The End - One-Shots
by DeliriousAbsol
Summary: The End is a fanfic filled with lots of characters, many of who have their own history, which raises many questions. How did Harbinger and Harlequin meet? What exactly happened after Cleo and Spark's home was destroyed? What awful trouble did Enigma go through? Why does Tinker find it hard to trust anyone? Their tales, and others, will be told in these one shots.
1. Exiled

**A/N - Here they are! The one-shots to tie in with The End. If you've not read The End yet, I strongly recommend you do - At least up to chapter 61 for the majority of them - since these will be riddled with spoilers!**

 **I hope to upload one a week (and hopefully also write one a week!) If there are any you'd like to see, please let me know either via PM or a review here or the main story. There may be characters I'm overlooking while writing!**

 **A little warning that many of these stories are a tad angsty in parts.**

 **Other than that, I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its critters! They belong to Nintendo, Game Freak etc.**

Exiled

The little Absol raced through the Shadow Lands, his breaths coming quick and heavy as he fled the massacre behind him. Terrified cries were still fresh in his mind along with the scorn and hate calls from the Pokemon he passed by.

 _'Yeh, run! Run, you wretched harbinger!'_

 _'Get out of here, you filth!'_

 _'Look at the mess you've caused!'_

 _'You brought this disaster on us!'_

Tears flooded out of his eyes, stinging and blurring his view. He screwed them shut, running blindly through the stack of tumbled rocks that marked the end of the Shadow Lands and the start of the Border Woods.

Head for the borders. Those had been his father's last words before the Murkrow had descended on him. The little Absol hadn't waited around to watch. He'd turned his tail and ran, trying to shut out the horrified cries.

Everything was red. That's how he remembered it.

Red.

Red eyes filled with rage, hatred and blood lust.

A red sky streaked with black feathers which fell onto a sticky red floor.

The little Absol just ran.

Those frantic cries faded into the background as he fled deeper into the Border Woods, but they were still blaring through his mind, a rampant turmoil of trauma caused by death and betrayal.

Betrayal.

It was all his fault.

If he'd just stayed hidden...

His right paw caught under a large root and his leg was snatched out from under him. He fell face first into the dirt, his chin skidding over the tangled plants and hard, tiny stones.

Tears flooded freely from his eyes and he let out a long groan, broken up by sharp sobs as he tried to push himself back onto his feet.

He was exhausted.

He'd been running since sunset, and now the sky was pitch black.

He sat down and ran a paw across his eyes, then blinked them back open, clearing away the bleariness. His breath caught in his throat as a small figure came into view beyond the brambles and he scooted backwards, almost falling onto his back.

A small Zorua stood watching him. They didn't look to be much younger than he was, and didn't have much to their physique either. They were rather skinny with long, slender legs, their body hidden under a dull, shaggy coat of fur. But what struck him the most was the Zorua's colouring. Rather than red markings, they had blue ones, and they stared at him through a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Are you all right?"

The Zorua's voice was as ambiguous as his appearance. He inclined his head on one side and took a step towards him.

The Absol edged away and quickly gasped out, "Don't come near me!"

"I'm not going to hurt you."

The Zorua advanced towards him and he took another step back, keeping his tail close to the ground as his entire body shook.

"Don't you know what I am?" the Absol asked.

"Of course I do!" The Zorua laughed. He stopped in front of him and narrowed his eyes, giving him a somewhat quizzical look. "You have mud on your face."

The Zorua closed his eyes and burst into fits of laughter.

The Absol frowned and sat down, rubbing his paw across his nose to remove the dirt as he stared at the Zorua. This made no sense. Why wasn't he running away? Or chasing after him with cries of loathing?

Finally, the odd Pokemon regained his composure and gave the Absol a smile.

"I'm Harlequin. What's your name?"

The Absol looked away from him. "I don't have one."

"Of course you do. Everyone has a name!"

"I don't." He shot the Zorua a leer. "I disgraced my clan so I had it removed from me. I'm _nothing_."

Harlequin stared at him blankly. "Then... what am I going to call you?"

The Absol frowned. "They call me a harbinger. Does that count?"

Harlequin seemed to process this for a moment, then he grinned widely.

"Harbie! I like it!"

"What?!" The Absol felt his red eyes widen. Was this Pokemon serious? "You do know what a harbinger is... right?"

"They foreshadow things."

"Yes. And Absol are accused of foreshadowing disasters."

Harlequin shrugged. "Then prove them wrong. Take the name and become a harbinger of good things."

The Absol closed his eyes in exasperation and stood up.

"You're insane."

He moved away from the Zorua, limping heavily on his right leg. He flinched at the pain in his paw. Great. He'd sprained it.

"You can't walk on that."  
He grit his teeth. "Watch me."

"I saw you fall!" Harlequin pleaded. "You need to rest it."

The Absol looked back at him. "What do you know? You're younger than I am!"

Harlequin's expression was serious. He sat staring at him silently and the Absol wondered if he was struggling to come up with a retort. He was about to turn away when the Zorua finally spoke.

"I'm studying poisons."

The Absol felt his fur stand on end. He gave the Zorua a look that told him he really hoped he was kidding.

"They made me learn basic medical stuff first," he went on. "You can't treat a poison if you don't know what counters it. The same thing also applies to simple injuries. A broken bone was the example they gave me. It needs setting in place and resting."

"I've not broken it." The Absol was blunt.

"You should still rest it."  
"I am not staying here," he growled. "The longer I wait around the the bigger a risk there is of that Honchkrow's flock of goons tracking me down. I have a price on my head! Hydreigon doesn't want Absol in the Shadow Lands, so I'm leaving! No one wants an Absol. No one. And you're foolish to even speak to me!"  
Harlequin closed his eyes briefly and sighed.

"No. I think you're the foolish one."

The Absol blinked. "What?"

"You can't tell when someone's trying to be your friend," said Harlequin. "You're an Absol. So what? You're not hurting anyone."

The Absol snorted and looked away. "Yeh right. Not hurting anyone? I just brought disaster on my own clan."

Harlequin didn't say anything, but he could feel the Zorua's eyes still on him. He needed to push this Pokemon away, to make him realise how big of a mistake it was to be around him.

"Absol are solitary, but we're forced to live together for the sake of our own safety. We were hidden, forbidden to leave the boundaries of our home perchance we were seen. But I went too far." He paused and looked up at the canopy. "I tried to run back but the Murkrow followed me. Then the Gabite and Garchomp. The next thing I know, I'm disgraced, stripped of my name and running for my life."

There was a long pause, then Harlequin's small voice broke the silence.

"It's not your fault."

The Absol tutted. "I was the one who breached the borders. I got curious. I knew the risks and despite that, I did it anyway. I betrayed them." He looked back at Harlequin, but the Zorua didn't meet his eye. "Do you really want a friend like that? One who puts your life in danger?"

Harlequin looked up at him slowly, his expression solemn. "My life's in danger every day."

The Absol opened his mouth to reply but no words came.

Harlequin blinked back tears and looked away from him. "The thing is... we're not entirely different. We both want to get away from the Shadow Lands and we both don't have any friends."

The Absol closed his eyes and sighed. "You spoke to me because I was running... didn't you?"

"The only Pokemon that run that frantically through these woods are the ones who are trying to get away."

The Absol licked his lips and stared down at the ground, his mind reeling.

"You want to come with me," he said.

Harlequin shrugged, still looking away from him. "We could both use the company. It's safer in numbers."

"There'd be two of us. That's hardly high numbers."  
"Two pairs of eyes is better than one." Harlequin flashed him a smile. "And my sense of smell is impeccable."

The Absol glanced away from him, his eyes moving left and right as he took this in. It wasn't a terrible idea. An extra set of eyes and ears was hardly anything to sniff at, but there was one small problem.

He frowned and sat down, fixing the Zorua with his crimson eyes.

"Okay, but... I still don't entirely trust you."  
Harlequin grinned. "I can earn that."

The Absol snorted and looked away.

"I do have one small request, however," Harlequin added.

The Absol looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"I need to finish my training. I have about two days left."

"Hmm..." the Absol crinkled his nose. "Your poison training."

Harlequin's blue eyes sparkled and he gave him an enthusiastic smile. "Oh believe me, it'll be valuable!"  
The Absol chuckled. "All right then. Do you want me to come back?"

Harlequin looked away from him and rubbed his forepaws together.

"I... don't want you to leave."

"Well I can't hang around. They'll find me."  
"Hide."

The Absol frowned. "For two days? You can't be serious!"  
"Please?"

He gave an exasperated sigh and rolled his head back. "Fine. Fine, I'll hide."

With a huge smile, Harlequin led the Absol to a thicket of brambles. A slender tree was arched over them, its roots curling up from the ground with a thick climbing ivy trailing off it.

"This is where I come when I want to get away for a bit," Harlequin told him. "It's my little den."

The Absol was impressed. It was certainly a good hiding spot that would obscure him from the view of the patrolling Murkrow while also hiding him from ground patrolling Pokemon.

Harlequin gave him a nudge with his nose.

"You go on in. I'll see you later."

He looked back at the Zorua. "When?"

"After my lessons." Harlequin reversed away from him. "I have them every night. My last one should be tomorrow."

The Absol climbed into the thicket and looked back out at the Zorua.

"After lessons... are you planning on staying here with me?"

Harlequin blinked, not focusing on the Absol as he briefly considered this, then shook his head sharply.

"No, no I can't. I... have stuff to do."

The Absol shrugged and retreated into the leaves.

"Can't blame me for asking. I thought you were running away."

"I am." Harlequin looked away and stood up. "Soon."

With that, he skipped away from the thicket, leaving the Absol to process everything that had happened.

He curled up beneath the sharp branches and peered out at the woods. He couldn't see much, which reassured him greatly. If he couldn't see _them_ , they couldn't see _him_. Before he knew it, he'd fallen into a deep sleep.

...

"Hey."

The Absol's eyes snapped open and he jerked back, his lips curling into a fierce snarl.

"Harbie, it's me."

A pair of blue eyes peered at him from the opening of the thicket.

He let out a relieved sigh and let his muscles relax. Then he tensed again as Harlequin crept through the branches.

"You weren't followed, were you?" the Absol asked.

Harlequin raised an eyebrow. "Why would they follow me?"

"You're a dark Pokemon living outside the Shadow Lands," he replied bluntly. "Don't they keep tabs on you outlaws?"

"I've never lived in the Shadow Lands. I was born in these woods, and I plan to leave them far behind soon."

"Exactly. You're a dark Pokemon living outside the Shadow Lands with every intention to run away from it. That makes you an outlaw."

"Fine. I'm an outlaw." Harlequin sat down and pulled a heavy satchel off his back. "I brought you a snack. I thought you might be hungry."

The Absol watched as Harlequin rummaged through the bag, pulling out chunks of dried meat and various berries. The truth was, he was hungry, but watching a strange Pokemon drop food in front of him sent his appetite retreating back inside him like a Sandshrew that had just spotted a blizzard.

Harlequin dropped a piece of meat beside him, causing the Absol to retreat back slightly.

"What's wrong?" the Zorua asked.

The Absol looked up from the meat and gave Harlequin a blank look.

"You said you study poisons."

Harlequin laughed, a light sound that had the Absol wondering if he'd guessed their gender wrong. He'd never outright asked Harlequin if they were a boy, and he'd never addressed him as such.

"I'm not going to poison you!" Harlequin gave him a playful smile. "Just take it. I'll have one too if it'll convince you?"

The Absol shook his head and sighed. It was obvious. It wasn't impossible, but Harlequin's boyish obsession with poisons had solidified his decision.

He sniffed the meat cautiously, the smell bringing his appetite back and causing his mouth to water. He took a bite out of it, then snapped it up in another two bites.

Harlequin laughed again. "I guess I was right! Help yourself, there's more."

The Zorua swallowed the piece of meat he was holding and rolled a berry over to the Absol.

The Absol eyed it for a moment and crawled across the ground to grab another piece of meat. Within moments the pair of them had finished the meal and curled up in the thicket, looking out at what could be seen of the dark woods.

"It'll be light soon," said Harlequin.

The Absol nodded.

"It's safer then," Harlequin went on. "There'll be no Murkrow out. They sleep during the day, like most dark Pokemon."

"I agree it's a better time to run away," said the Absol. "But the Outcasts are awake during the day, and they don't like us."

Harlequin stared at him for a moment, then laughed.

"I wasn't saying that! I was going to say we could go out and play!"

He looked down at the Zorua, aghast. "Are you serious?"

"Yep!"

Harlequin rolled onto his side so his head was resting on the Absol's ribs and pawed his nose.

The Absol frowned and raised his paw, batting Harlequin's smaller paw aside.

"How old are you?" he grunted.

"I dunno... seven seasons?"  
"I'm older than you."

"Doesn't mean you can't play." Harlequin grabbed his paw in both of his and bit it playfully.

The Absol pulled his paw back, feeling himself smile slightly at the Zorua's ridiculous behaviour.

"I've not played these games since I was a hatchling." He gave Harlequin a grin. "And I intend to keep it that way."  
"Well, I don't have any brothers or sisters so I don't get to play them often."  
Harlequin wagged his tail against the ground, fixing the Absol with a pleading sapphire gaze.

The Absol rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Come on, Harbie! Don't be a spoil sport!"

Harlequin rose to his feet and nudged the Absol over with his nose. Before he could protest, the Zorua grabbed his ruff in his jaws and shook his head, letting out a little growl. The Absol shoved him off and stood up, watching as Harlequin poked his head out of the thicket. Seemingly satisfied, he turned back to him and grinned.

"Come on, the sun's rising."

Harlequin vanished outside. Cautiously, the Absol crept to the opening and peered out. It was indeed growing lighter, and there appeared to be no Murkrow in the tree branches. Harlequin was sat in the open watching him. When he caught the Absol's attention, he skipped backwards while wagging his tail.

The Absol decided against all odds to join Harlequin out in the open and play his silly games. He'd enjoyed them as a hatchling, and if a Pokemon Harlequin's age could still enjoy them then there was no reason he couldn't. He gave the Zorua a grin and lurched out of the thicket towards him.

Harlequin leapt back from him and skipped away behind the thicket.

The Absol galloped after him, following him along a narrow path through the woods, over thick shrubberies and roots. He managed to catch up to the Zorua and pounced at him. Harlequin looked back and ducked in time, sending the Absol flying over his head and crashing into a bramble bush. The thorns snagged at his fur as he rolled through it, coming to a stop on his feet at the other side.

Harlequin burst through the prickly bush with a light chuckle and struck the Absol in the side with a playful tackle. He toppled sideways and rolled, pinning the Zorua beneath him and grabbing his ruff in his teeth. Harlequin kicked out with his back feet, striking him in the stomach until he relinquished his grip and rolled off him in a fit of giggles.

They both lay on their backs trying to catch their breath.

"Okay," the Absol gasped out. "You were right, that was fun."

"Yeh!"

Harlequin laughed and closed his paws over his chest, staring at the sun leaking through the canopy.

"I think I need to get back," he said.

The Absol turned his head to look at him. "All ready? I thought we might as well leave this place while we have the chance."

Harlequin shook his head. "I can't. I still have something I need to do."

"Then... do it now."

The Zorua hesitated and looked away from him. "It... It'll take a while."

The Absol stared at him, but Harelquin kept his focus on the canopy, lost in whatever thoughts were racing through his head. With a sigh, the Absol stood up.

"In that case, I guess I'll go back to your den."

Harlequin flashed him a smile. "I'll walk you."

He flipped himself onto his feet and skipped past the Absol, retracing their steps through the woods. He came to a sudden stop and pawed at something on the ground.

"Isn't this yours?"

The Absol followed his paw. A clear stone with a black and white band running through it lay amongst the foliage attached to a thick black string. His eyes widened.

"Yes. It is. It must have come loose when we rolled through that thorn bush."

He picked it up in his jaws by the string.

"I've been meaning to ask what it is." Harlequin told him.

The Absol closed his eyes briefly as memories from his home surfaced.

"It's an heirloom," he said flatly. "It belonged to my grandfather."  
"Is it special?"  
The Absol shrugged. "I've no idea."

They arrived back at the thicket and the Absol slipped inside. Harlequin poked his head in after him.

"I'll see you later?"

The Absol had fastened the string together and slipped it over his horn, letting the stone rest against his thick, white ruff. He gave Harlequin a smile.

"Sure. Later."

Harlequin vanished and the Absol glanced from side to side before poking his head back out of the thicket.

"Wait... Harlequin?"  
The Zorua froze in his tracks and looked back at him.

"I..." the Absol faltered and glanced away. "I've never had a friend before..."

Harlequin was silent for a moment, causing the Absol to fear his reaction. Finally, the Zorua spoke up.

"Neither have I."

The Absol looked back at him. Harlequin gave him a reassuring smile then turned and skipped away out of sight.

With a heavy sigh, he retreated back into the thicket and curled up, keeping his eyes on the opening. He found himself wishing night would fall, which was something he had never wished for before.

Life had become a little less lonely.

...

Leaves exploded throughout the thicket as Harlequin burst through with such ferocity the Absol almost leapt to his feet. The look on the Zorua's face was frantic and he didn't once look at him. He was shaking from head to foot and couldn't seem to keep still as he paced back and forth, glancing over his shoulder, blue eyes wide and his breath coming in heavy, frightened bursts.

"Dawn," he gasped. "We're leaving."

"What?" The Absol glanced out of the thicket. He couldn't tell when at night it was, but he was almost certain this was much too early for Harlequin to be here. "Don't you have a poison lesson?"

"No... I... yes... later." He shook his head and reversed out of the thicket. "Dawn."  
The Absol jumped up and looked out at the Zorua.

"Harlequin!"

"Dawn!" Harlequin didn't look back at him.

The Absol watched helplessly as he vanished into the shadows of the trees. Something was wrong. He could feel it. He retreated back into the thicket, his mind reeling. Was Harlequin coming back before dawn? He hadn't said. All he'd said was they're leaving at dawn.

And something was wrong. Harlequin had looked shaken, anxious, out of character. He'd only known him two days, but he'd normally had a cheerful, playful attitude. Not an anxious, fearful one.

He had to know what was wrong. He had to follow him.

The Absol grit his teeth and threw himself through the thicket. He bolted after Harlequin, kicking debris up from the floor as he ran. He hadn't got far when a large, black shadow flapped down from the trees above him, landing heavily on the ground in a rotund mass of feathers.

He came to a screeching halt, staring up into the red eyes of a massive Honchkrow, Yurlik, leader of Hydreigon's vast Murkrow army.

Yurlik clicked his beak and shook his head slowly.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He laughed. "Turns out the little Zorua was right. There _is_ an Absol here."

The Absol took a step back. The Zorua was right? What was going on?

"Oh dear." Yurlik wiped a wing feather across his moist forehead. "You seem surprised. Didn't you know that Zorua is one of Hydreigon's assassins?"

"Assassin?" The Absol shook his head, trying to find more words but none came.

"Yes. Assassin." Yurlik leant towards him, his beak mere millimetres from his face. "He sold you out. His job was to keep you here, to give you a false sense of security before we came to get you."

"No." The Absol shook his head. "He wouldn't do that..."

Yurlik threw his head back and laughed, then fixed the Absol in a wicked crimson glare.

"You are so naïve! No one wants an Absol around! You bring nothing but misfortune wherever you go! Even onto yourself!" He laughed again.

The Absol took another step back. Then another. He couldn't believe it. He'd been betrayed. How could he have been so foolish?  
He closed his eyes tight, trying to block out the tears that threatened to flow. With a sharp twist of his head, he nicked the Honchkrow's body with his sharp horn. The large bird let out a shrill shriek, followed by a flurry of feathers from his Murkrow soldiers. The Absol bolted, taking off through the woods. He blinked back tears from his eyes as he became aware that the heavy stone he'd worn around his neck wasn't beating against his chest. He'd lost it...

He'd lost everything.

He didn't even look back. He couldn't. The woods were threatening. There was no place for him here. He picked up his pace as Yurlik's orders boomed out behind him.

"Get him! Make sure he's never seen near here again!"  
Black feathers beat through the air above him as the Murkrow flock blocked out the light from the moon. Their threatening caws exploded through the woods like a war cry as they pursued their intended victim.

The little Absol ran.

...

The town that lay before him was in ruins.

Old embers danced across the charred wooden surface of what were once shoddy buildings, quickly thrown up by Pokemon who found no place in the woods. It was safer to be out of them, in hastily built huts than to be fearing the shadows from the close confines of the trees. That was the view of most Pokemon he came across.

The Absol's large feet crunched over the remains of the town, the soot and ash leaving a grey residue on his white fur.

This was once a town for Pawniard and Bisharp, but if any had escaped they were long gone. The bodies that lay amongst the burnt wood and ash were hard to spot at first, since they no longer resembled their former selves. Despite all the destruction he'd seen over the past several years, he couldn't bring himself to look at them for long. It was terrifying. These Pokemon's hard bodies are made of steel and blades, and the fires that had destroyed this town had destroyed their bodies as well. The Pokemon that had stormed this place were called the Wildfires for a reason. Their attacks were relentless. They showed up in a pack of howling flames, destroyed everything, then moved on to their next target.

He flinched and looked away, searching through the remains of the buildings for anything that was remotely salvageable.

None of them seemed to have anything. Everything had been burnt up.

He was about to give up when his ears twitched. Something was crying.

He turned back to follow the sound. One of the building's he'd looked in at first glance had been empty, with nothing but the former body of a Bisharp inside. But there, almost completely hidden behind a pile of fallen, smouldering wood, were two little Pawniard twins.

As he padded over to them, they looked up. Immediately their already large eyes widened at the sight of the Absol and they recoiled away from him, their bladed paws scraping across the floor.

The Absol looked down at the Bisharp's body then back at the two little Pawniard.

"You can't stay here," he told them.

The Pawniard exchanged glances, then one stood up and gave the Absol a brief look before staring down at his feet. The other rubbed his paws together nervously, the soft grating sound deceptively louder in the morbid silence.

"We... have nowhere to go," the first one told him. "Where do we go?"

The Absol thought about this. As much as he didn't want to look at the Bisharp he couldn't help but do so. This Bisharp had been important to the two Pawniard, important enough that they couldn't leave its side.

"This was your mother, wasn't it?" he asked.

The Pawniard twins nodded.

"I'm sorry. I can understand. I lost my family years ago." He looked at them. They were both still very young. Too young to have seen all this. "What are your names?"

"I'm Claw," the first one answered. "And this is Scratch."

The nervous Pawniard glanced up at him, still rubbing his claws together.

The Absol nodded and looked up at the sky. It was still night time. The sun would be rising soon.

"Come with me," he told them.

They exchanged glances again, and Claw stuttered for a moment as he struggled to find his words.

"Where... will we go?"

The Absol shrugged. "I don't live anywhere. I just wander. Do you want to come with me? Or shall I leave you two alone here?"

Claw moved over to him, but his brother jumped up and reached out to him.

"W-wait! We... we don't know him!"

"But we can't stay here." Claw looked back at his brother. "It's too dangerous and what if they come back?"

The Absol watched them. Pawniard... Bisharp... Absol... no one wanted them around. Pawniard and Bisharp are made of blades. Everything they touched became scratched up or destroyed. Just like Absol, the Outcasts didn't want them. The Heretics didn't want them. The Shadow Lands didn't want them. They were outlaws.

After thinking this over for a short while, Scratch seemed to meet the same decision as his brother. He plodded after him, his sharp feet clattering over the remains of the wooden floor.

Harbinger turned and led them out of the building, and away from the destruction.

"Sir," Claw spoke up. "What's your name?"

The Absol closed his eyes briefly and glanced back at the two little Pokemon.

"Harbinger."

...

 **Please R &R! =D**


	2. Hero (Part 1)

**A/N - This ended up being very long for a one-shot. Around 20k words. So I've broken it into two parts for easier reading. It's still classed as a one-shot, since it's just one un-chaptered story, but I'll be uploading it over the space of two weeks!**

 **Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its critters!**

Hero

A soft jingling rang through the small, wooden house as a little Shuppet darted about in the air around the rafters. His parents sat on the floor watching him carefully. His father sat back on his paws and gave a soft chuckle.

"I remember when I used to be able to fly about like that."

His mother nodded. "Yes. He really likes that bell you got him."

"Honedge make good bells." The Banette gave his wife a smile. "I think I might get one for myself."

"Whatever would you do with it at your age?" She laughed.

"I don't know. What he's doing," he nodded at the playful Shuppet. "Minus the flying."

"Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea, actually. Then I could hear it when the pair of you sneak up on me." She gave him a cheeky smile.

There was a knock at the door and they looked round to find a Sableye slipping through the wood. He gave them a nervous glance then looked back at the door.

The male Banette stood up and looked up at the Shuppet.

"Come down now, Enigma. We have a guest."

The little Shuppet warped from the rafters to his father's side, hovering at his shoulder. He gave the Sableye a curious stare.

The Sableye couldn't maintain eye contact with the Banette. He kept looking back at the door, his entire body shaking.

"What's wrong?" the Banette asked.

"He's coming." The Sableye wrung his paws together.

"Who?"

"Hydreigon."

The female Banette tutted. "He's already taken the Shadow Mountains. What does he want with us now?"

"It's not the Hydreigon who took the Shadow Mountains," the Sableye went on. "It's his son, and he has a pack of Weavile with him."  
"His son?" The male Banette's face paled. "The rumours are true?"

"It looks that way."

The Shuppet's mother had to sit down. "What do we do?"

"Hide," the Sableye said bluntly. "It's all we can do. There's no time to flee." He placed a paw on the door and looked up at the Banette. "I have to warn the others. Look after your wife and kid."

They watched as the Sableye vanished through the door.

The Banette shook his head. He grabbed a heavy black cloak from the wall and threw it at his wife.

"Cover yourselves in that and run."  
She caught it and stood up, fixing him with pleading eyes.

"He said we have no time!"

"It's dark out. That cloak will hide you." He paused and looked away. "And I'll buy you time."

"Absolutely not!" She crossed her arms. "You're coming!"

He sighed and ran a paw over his head.

"Okay, just..."

He strode over to her and threw the cloak over her shoulders, ushering Enigma into her arms. She found herself steered towards the door with his paw on her shoulder.

Before they reached it, a loud roar exploded through the air, followed by frantic war cries. Screams echoed through the mountains and the small family stood by the door, their bodies tense as they tried to figure out what to do.

"I..." The female Banette hugged Enigma to her chest. "I guess we stay here and hide?"

"There's nowhere to hide," her husband told her. "We run."

He took her paw and opened the door, revealing a horrific sight. Flocks of Weavile clamoured over the rocks and trees, striking down any ghost Pokemon that had decided to run. It was too risky... but they couldn't stay. They couldn't go. They had to pick one option and so far, the safer one was to run and hope they wouldn't be seen.

Or at least two of them wouldn't be seen.

"Go." He pushed her forward. "Go, I'll follow you."

She looked back at him. "But-"

"Please."

She bit her lip and looked away from him, then broke into a sprint, heading away from the madness towards the top of the mountain. She could warp like any other ghost Pokemon. But if she did, her husband would lose sight of her and she'd lose him in the chaos.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?!"

She span on her heel and her eyes widened as two Weavile tailed her husband, striking him with their claws as they cut in front of him.

"No!"

The cry was an impulse, and one that had cost them their escape. The Weavile turned their wicked eyes on her and one of them grinned.

"Hey, there's another one here!"

She felt her hood whisked back from her face as a third one appeared behind her.

"She's got a kid, n'all!" The first one looked back over his shoulder. "Hey, Lord Hydreigon! What do we do about this?"

The massive form of the three-headed dragon lurched towards them on his segmented wings. He leered down at the small Banette family and frowned.

"What do you mean what do you do with them? You kill them like I told you to!"

"What?" The Weavile standing behind her looked perplexed. "Even the kid?"

"Are you defying me?" The Hydreigon's voice was dangerously soft.

"Nope, nope!" The Weavile shook his head sharply. "Killin' the kid."

He raised his claws to take the Shuppet off his mother.

"No!" She snatched him back. "Not him! Please, not him!"

"No! Not him!" Her husband raised his paws and cut in front of them, despite his heavily bleeding side. "Listen, I..." he paused, racking his mind to think on the spot. "He can work for you. Think about it, a ghost assassin? How does that sound?"

"I have a lot of assassins," the Hydreigon told him. "All of them either dark or dragon Pokemon. What would I want with a pathetic ghost?"

At the sound of 'pathetic ghost', the Weavile erupted into laughter, some of them even keeling over in hysterics.

"He can warp, and slip through walls," his father explained. "Vanish into shadows... turn invisible... he'd be invaluable for gathering information, no one would see him."

The large dragon seemed to think about this for a moment as the Weavile continued their wild laughter. More of the dark weasel Pokemon had gathered around them, forming a sea of laughing sharp claws and fangs.

"Silence!" The dragon boomed.

The laughing mob fell into instant silence.

The Hydreigon looked down at the Banette who was now clutching his side, almost struggling to stay upright.

"I quite like that idea," he said, his large muzzle forming into a sinister smirk. "But I have no need for the other two of you."

The Banette's eyes widened with horror.

"He needs his mother! Please... if you really want to kill any of us, then spare them two and just kill me!"

The dragon laughed. "Very well."

The female Banette shook her head violently. "No!"

Her husband looked back at her. "It's the only way. Please... I want you two to stay alive."

Tears leaked out of her eyes and she took a step back, tearing her attention away from him. She clutched Enigma to her chest as her body shook with sobs. She couldn't watch. The sound of a series of dark pulse striking the ground at her feet caused her heart to leap into her throat and she fell to the floor on her knees as all strength left her body. She fell forwards and Enigma just managed to slip out of her grip.

He stared down at his parents, his large eyes flicking from one to the other.

The foul dragon hadn't spared either of them.

"I guess you're mine now," the Hydreigon told him. "You'd better pull your weight or their sacrifice will be in vain won't it?"

Enigma continued to stare at his parents, his heart slowly sinking as the situation dawned on him. He was alone.

"Oh great," the dragon snarled. "Don't tell me you can't even speak yet?!"

Enigma didn't look at him. "I can speak."

"Then come along. I'm done here, we're leaving."

Enigma shot from the air to his mother, vanishing under the heavy cloak.

"Oi! You stupid little... Yurlik! Grab him!"

The Shuppet felt sharp claws snatch his flesh as he was hoisted into the air, cloak and all.

"What do you think you're doing?" the Hydreigon roared. "You belong to me!"

"This is mine!" Enigma replied. "I wanted it."

The dragon turned away with a snarl, and rising from the ground led the army back to the Shadow Lands.

Enigma felt himself carried through the air, the army shrinking beneath him as he glided over the Weavile. He craned his neck to look up at an overweight Honchkrow. The bird cast him a glance and tutted, but he said nothing.

Within moments, Enigma was on the ground, trapped under the large bird's talons. He couldn't see much except for the base of a massive, black-stone castle.

"What are we doing with him?" Yurlik asked the Hydreigon.

"Throw him in with the rest of the trainees. I want him out of sight for a while." The dragon turned away, moving through the large castle doors.

Yurlik spread his wings and took to the air again, swooping towards another building. It was large and flat, and was a dirty grey colour with rust-coloured smudges up the walls that Enigma thought for a dreadful moment may actually be blood stains.

He was dropped discourteously onto the ground and the large Honchkrow landed a couple of feet away from him.

"I haven't a clue why he decided to keep _you_ ," he grunted. "Nevertheless, this is where you'll be staying." He leapt over him and struck the door with his beak. "Niana! Get out here!"

The door opened and a Scrafty looked out at them. He looked first at Yurlik, then at Enigma, then back up at the Honchkrow.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Yurlik frowned. "This Shuppet is to be trained to be an assassin. I'm leaving him here in the barracks."

The Scrafty's brow furrowed and he bared his canines.

"You're not serious?!"

Yurlik turned away and waved his wing at the Scrafty.

"They're not _my_ orders. Show him to a room."

Enigma watched the Honchkrow leave and looked back at the Scrafty. The rough-looking Pokemon leered at him then let out a sigh and stood aside, opening the door wider.

"Come in. I'll find you a room."

Enigma hesitated briefly, but decided it would probably be safer to follow the Scrafty. He bobbed along after him, down the musty smelling hallway.

"Contrary to what you're probably thinking," the Scrafty told him, "I'm not the one in charge here."

"You're not?" Enigma asked.

"No. Niana is my sister, but I was tidying up the training room when Yurlik knocked on the door. Bit of a bully, that Honchkrow. I'd keep your distance."

The Scrafty turned into a corridor lined with doors. He paused about half way down and opened one of them.

"You'll be staying here."

Enigma peered inside. The room was as dank and musty as the rest of the building. The nest inside was not a design he was familiar with. It was a flat stone slab raised off the floor on four small logs, topped with a bed of hay, not a comfy bed of leaves like his nest back home. He felt his heart sink and he looked at the floor.

"Look, I know it's not ideal, but you'll get used to it." The Scrafty gave him a nudge with his foot, pushing him into the room. "You'll need to pull yourself together n'all, otherwise the other dark Pokemon here are just gonna wale on you."

Enigma looked back as the Scrafty closed the door.

Alone.

He bobbed over to the bed and stared at it. It didn't seem very welcoming. He gave a sigh and tossed the cloak onto it, then let himself flop on top of the black fabric. It still smelled like his mother.

He tried to hold back tears, but it was pointless. He'd lost his family.

He was alone.

Alone and scared in the Shadow Lands.

Pulling the fabric around his small body, he rolled up into a small ball and cried himself to sleep.

...

A soft knock at the door snapped Enigma back into the waking world. He rolled over on the bed as the door cracked open. The face of a female Sneasel peered at him, her body hidden by the door.

"I was told to come get you," she said.

The grogginess that filled his head made him feel sluggish and nauseous but despite all that he shot under the bed like a dart, his bell jingling violently with the momentum. He stared at the Sneasel, expecting her to come out with some snide remark, but she just laughed.

"Aww, come on."

She slipped into the room and closed the door behind her, crouching down in front of the bed. She didn't appear to be any older than he was.

Enigma's eyes widened like saucers.

"We have training to do," she told him.

"You're a girl!" He retreated further under the bed.

"Is that what's bothering you?" She laughed. "You're adorable."

"You can't be in here!"

"Sorry. These barracks are mixed genders."

"I don't like girls!"

He adjusted his density and floated up through the stone slab away from her.

She stood up and stared at him, folding her arms across her chest.

"You won't be saying that in a few years time," she told him.

He stuck his tongue out at her and she chuckled.

"What's your name?" she asked. "I'm Kera."

"Enigma."

"Ooh! Like the berry?"

Enigma frowned. "What?"

"The enigma berry. It turns a super-effective attack into a healing move, causing the opponent's strategy to backfire."

He huffed. "Never heard of it."

"Anyway," Kera waved a paw, changing the subject, "you're to be my new training partner." She smiled. "I'm actually quite excited about it, I've just been training with Niana so far, since she's the only other girl here." A fond smile spread across her face. "She's like a mother Ducklett, but she's much more skilled than I am. It'll be nice to have someone I'm more on par with."

Enigma frowned again. "So you want to use dark attacks on me? That's rather unfair."

She laughed. "You learn to dodge!"

He looked away from her.

"Wow, is this what I think it is?"

She'd turned her attention to the cloak on his nest. She ran her claws over it and lifted it up to examine it.

"It is, it's Dusclops cloth. This is really rare."

Enigma slowly moved down to her shoulder.

"I've only seen this once before," she went on. "Dusclops use it because they have problems with invisibility, right? So for you to have a full cloak of it? It's really heavy! How did you-" She turned to look at him and she dropped the cloak in shock with a yell.

Enigma shot away from her and vanished into the wall. He peeked back out at her, his red eyes wide.

"Sorry." She laughed, pressing a paw to her chest. "You snuck up on me! Why... why do you have this? You can turn invisible, right?"

"Yes, I can." He slipped out of the wall and flopped down onto the cloak. "It was my mother's."

"Oh." Kera scratched her head and sighed. "I'm sorry. Well, anyway... with your ability to sneak and turn invisible, you'll make a great assassin!"

"But... I don't want to be an assassin!"

"Well..." She placed a paw back on the cloak and stared down at it. "Hydreigon doesn't like... he doesn't normally use ghosts. If you don't train then... he won't keep you."

Enigma looked away from her.

"I should also add if you don't do well, he won't keep you around." She was silent for a moment. "And that would be a shame. Our numbers right now are quite low too, since a lot of assassins couldn't be silenced." She paused again. "And given their job, they posed quite a threat."

Enigma sat back and stared at the door.

"He killed his dad," he said quietly. "Just to take the throne. And he expects everyone to be quiet about that?"

"To be honest, most of us that are staying quiet are not happy about it." She gave him a hard look. "But you _need_ to stay silent or he'll have you killed."

Enigma shrugged.

"Didn't he kill your parents?" she asked.

When he said nothing she went on.

"They gave their lives to spare yours. You could run, but he'd have you tracked down, and a lot of dark Pokemon carry foresight or odour sleuth, so they'd find you even if you went invisible to try and avoid them." She looked at him. "What's it going to be? Train to be an assassin or run to the borders?"

Enigma had barely listened after she'd mentioned his parents. Giving their lives to save his... they'd be devastated if he went and got himself killed now. The best thing he could do would be to train, and take things from there.

"Fine," he said without looking at her. "I'll come with you."

"Great!" She jumped to the door and threw it open. "Come on, I'll show you what I can do!"

Enigma shot off after her. "You're a little too excited about this!"

She laughed. "Of course! I finally have someone my own age to spar with!"

...

Two seasons had gone by since Enigma was forced into the barracks. The cold season was thawing out and very little snow was left on the ground. The Shuppet bobbed back and forth in his room, light leaking in through a tear in the heavy blind on his window.

Insomnia. He'd had it since he hatched. Sometimes, he just couldn't sleep, and this was one of those times.

He paused by the window and nudged the blind aside. It was still morning. Midday wasn't even close. That meant his last training session hadn't ended as long ago as he'd thought.

He tutted and let the blind fall back into place. All the Pokemon in the Shadow Lands would be sleeping. Very few stayed awake during the day, and even those that would normally be diurnal had oddly adapted the sleeping pattern of the majority of the population. Outside was eerily quiet. It was always this way. Yet despite how quiet it was, he couldn't summon up the courage to venture out of the barracks. The times he'd been out were few and far between and had either been with Kera for a walk, or other trainees as a hunting project. Outside served better hiding spots for hunting, and a couple of assassins would be chosen to find as many of their training partners as they could before the time was up.

Other than that, he stayed indoors... and he was becoming very, very bored.

He peered out of the window again. A few yards away stood a building two stories high. Dark brickwork – not quite black, more of a deep slate blue – with narrow windows that seemed oddly lighter during the day than they did at night. When he'd asked Kera what it was, she'd told him it was a library. She had no interest going inside, however, so Enigma had reluctantly turned away from it and followed her. But he desperately wanted to go inside. Finding some books would certainly fill the hours of boredom spent when he couldn't sleep.

He grit his teeth. No other Pokemon were awake, he didn't need to stay hidden behind these walls. It was now or never.

He closed his eyes and slipped through the wall. A cool breeze ran through his fur and his eyes snapped open. He was outside! He backed up to the wall slightly, both eyes fixed on the library. It seemed further away than it had done from the other side of the window.

But he could do it. He could make it there and back in mere seconds if he wanted to. All he had to do was warp over there, poke his head through the wall and see what it was like. If he wanted to stay, then stay. If not, come back. No harm done.

In one deft swoop, he vanished and reappeared beside the bluish building. He glanced around him briefly, and once satisfied no other Pokemon were watching him he slipped through the wall.

His heart caught in his throat.

The building was dark, but deep snores emanated all around him. He froze by the wall, slowly scanning the room. The sleeping forms of what looked like a hundred hairy Pokemon lay sprawled on the floor wherever there was space – a pack of Mightyena and smaller Poochyena.

Enigma gulped and began to reverse back through the wall. He couldn't do it. He wasn't strong enough. If those Pokemon woke up, there was no way he could defend himself.

The cool air enveloped him again and he stared at the blank wall. Another problem faced him – if he wanted to read, he needed to evolve. At least with paws, he could pick up the books without dropping them. Without risking waking up all those Pokemon who would very likely be incredibly grumpy afterwards.

With a hefty sigh, Enigma turned back to the barracks and warped to his window. Once back in his room, he floated back and forth once more.

He was bored. And now he wanted to evolve more than anything.

He span on the spot and shot through the walls until he reached the room four doors down from his. He hovered in the room, feeling his mouth twist into a smirk as he stared at the sleeping form of a young Sneasel.

He lowered himself towards her so he was mere millimetres from her face.

"Hey. Kera."

She didn't even twitch.

Enigma chuckled and moved over to her ear. Taking the long feather in his teeth he gave it a sharp tug.

The Sneasel's eyes snapped open and she span round, lashing out with her claws.

Enigma became transparent just as the sharp claws touched his fur, letting them glide harmlessly through his body and collide with the soft hay.

Kera's eyes narrowed when she saw him. He chuckled again and moved to the foot of her nest where he flopped down with a jingle. She sat up and fixed him with a glare.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm bored," he said. "And I want to train."  
"It's daylight." She yawned and lay back down.

"I know. I can't sleep."

"You rarely sleep."

"Today's different. I want to go outside."

"Then go. No one's stopping you."  
"I'm the only ghost here," he explained. "I think I should evolve first. Will you help me?"

"What?" She sat up and looked at him again. "Evolve? Why?"

"Well... I'd be stronger. And I'd have paws."

"What does having paws have to do with anything?"  
"I want to go to the library," he said flatly. "But there's Mightyena in there. If I woke them up, they might not be happy. At least with paws I could carry a book back out with me."

Kera sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Look. If I go to the library and get you a book, will you let me sleep?"

Enigma glanced away from her and stared at the floor. His silence seemed to test her patience as she flopped back onto her back with a groan.

"I-" He paused and looked back at her. "I want to be able to go myself."

She lay with an arm across her eyes and let out another sigh.

"Can this not wait until night time?"

He looked away from her. "I guess."

They waited in silence for a moment and Enigma felt his heart sink. He looked back up at her and shifted uneasily.

"Isn't tonight another hunting mission?" he asked.

"Yeh. Why?"

"Well... we don't do combat training. So I won't be able to..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Never mind."  
She sat up and looked at him, her face mirroring his disheartened voice.

"You're really that desperate to evolve today?" she asked.

"Yes. And Niana thinks it won't take me long now."

Kera rubbed her paws together and glanced away from him.

"You know... there's no guarantee you will evolve in the next training session, or even the one after that."

Enigma shrugged. "The more practice I get increases the chance."

She fixed him with one eye. "If not, are you going to be bugging me every morning?"

He gave her a playful smirk. "Maybe."

She shook her head and chuckled.

"Listen. I'll help you, but-" She raised a claw as a look of pure glee crossed his face, "only if you come back here before sunset, and let me get some more sleep." She lay back down. "We'll get an early start. Okay?"

"Okay!"

Enigma watched her from his spot at the foot of the bed. Her ear twitched and she opened one eye.

"Are you going to go back to your room?"

"Nope. I'm gonna wait here."

She sighed and sat up. "Fine, fine. We'll do it now!"

Enigma burst into fits of giggles and followed her from the room.

Enigma shot back into the training room carrying a small pouch in his mouth. He dropped it at Kera's feet. The Sneasel was sat leaning against the wall and she yawned widely and stretched before opening the small pouch. A scattering of berries tumbled off the fabric.

"That's all I could find," he told her.

"You managed to get some dried fish, so I'm happy." She grabbed one and bit into it, then fixed him with a serious expression. "How much longer do you plan to keep training?"

He shrugged and snatched up a piece of dried meat.

"Until I evolve."

"For all you know, that could take days."

Days? He groaned, feeling his heart sink.

"It will if we keep replacing training with hunting missions!" he whined.  
Kera sighed. "Okay. We'll train for one more hour, then I'm going back to bed. Okay?"

Enigma frowned and nodded. "Okay."

He dropped what was left of his meal and darted across the training hall, then span, firing out a chain of fiery wisps. Kera had to think fast and roll to the side to avoid them.

"What are you doing?" she squeaked. "Those nearly hit me!"

"Training."

"I wasn't even prepared!" She stood up and dusted herself down. "Seriously, Enigma. You really need to learn something about patience."  
Enigma laughed hysterically and fired a shadow ball at her. She had to duck and roll once more. When she stood up, she fixed him with a crimson glare, then her mouth turned up into a smirk.

"Oh, you cad! Taking advantage of a girl when she's got her guard down?"

"Taking advantage? I just don't have time to be snacking!"

She flicked her claws and a flurry of ice flew at him. He moved out of the way, barely skimming the attack. Little patches of frost appeared on his fur then melted into small droplets of water. Kera shot at him from the other side, her claws moving harmlessly through his body.

Enigma tutted. "What are you doing? At least use an attack that will hit me!"  
"Don't be foolish!" she barked. "If I used a dark attack, I could kill you!"

"Come on, you must know something else other than icy wind?"  
Kera scratched her head and glanced aside.

"There is something I've been practising-"

"Show me!"

"It's not perfect yet, that's why I've not used it before."

She raised her claws and they seemed to glitter like steel before she brought them down towards the Shuppet's torso. In a flash, Enigma vanished into the ground, throwing Kera off balance. He popped up again behind her and struck her in the back. The Sneasel had to steady herself as she rounded on him.

She grinned. "So, you want to play games do you?"

She brought her claws down at him once more, cutting off his chosen escape route. He went flying across the room with the impact, smashing against the wall by the door.

Kera covered her mouth with both paws, her eyes wide with horror.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay?!" She bolted to his side and placed a paw on his head. "I rarely ever manage to hit you! You're normally so quick, I-"  
"I don't feel well."

She snatched her hand back from him and stared at him with her mouth open for a brief moment until she blurred out of focus and he flopped onto the floor and closed his eyes, his breath coming in quick, heavy bursts. His entire body felt like it was being stretched from the inside.

"Enigma, what's wrong? Was it my attack? I need to get someone!"

"No..."

He wanted to explain it had started just after he hit her with his own attack, but instead his face twisted into a grimace as an alarming burst of pain shot through his bones. Kera had said something but it hadn't registered. All he could hear was his own blood pounding in his ears.

Then, as fast as it had started, it was over. The agony had subsided, leaving nothing more than a dull ache. He opened his eyes and did a quick double take. A clawed, grey paw was lying mere centimetres from his face. He sat up with such speed his back struck the wall. His body had morphed completely. He stared down at his new paws, turning them back and forth. Then he stared down at his legs for a moment before pushing himself to his feet. He didn't need to float any more. It was an odd feeling.

Kera was stood a little away from him, trying her best not to stare. A small bell was clutched in her paws and she held it to her chest, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"Well... it worked." She gave him a nervous grin.

He snorted. "If I'd known it was going to hurt like that, I wouldn't have been in such a rush."

"Hmm..." She glanced away from him. "I wouldn't know. But you did have to... grow new limbs. Most Pokemon don't need to do that."

She moved over to him and handed him the silver bell. He took it in his paws and stared down at it. Two blue ribbons of fabric hung limply from it, designed to look like the hands of a Honedge.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Taller."

She chuckled. "Well I hate to break it to you, but you're not your adult size yet." She gave him a smile. "Do you feel stronger?"

He crossed his arms and looked away from her. Truth was, he felt sore, but he didn't want to announce that in front of her.

"I think you need a rest." She turned and gathered up what was left of their snack in the little pouch, which she bundled into his paws. "Take this with you. Don't join us for the mission later." She scratched her head and looked away from him. "I'll tell Niana you're sick."

He hugged the pouch to his chest and stared at her, then turned and headed for the door.

"I'll join you if I feel up to it," he said.

He opened the door and paused in the doorway, feeling her eyes on his back. He glanced back at her and gave a small smile.

"Thanks, by the way."  
She laughed. "Don't mention it."

He closed his eyes and smirked, keeping his back to her. "How do I look?"

There was a brief pause.

"You want me to say 'cool' don't you?" she asked, crossing her arms.

He shrugged. "Maybe."

She grinned and inclined her head on one side. "Cool guys don't scream that much."

His face flushed and she laughed so hard she doubled over.

"Good night, Enigma."

He waved his paw and grunted a 'good night' before strolling back to his room. Scream? Him? He closed his door behind him and leant back on it, letting out a low groan. His ego felt as sore as his body.

...

Enigma held the long scarf in both paws, inclining his head on one side as he examined it. It had turned out a little long, but that wasn't a problem. A half smile played across his lips and he tossed the scarf around his neck, letting two long ends hang down his front and back. A little chime came from him as he stooped to gather up the rest of the cloak and stuff it under his bed.

He then glanced out of the window. The sun was rising, casting the sky in a murky grey. Throwing that scarf together had certainly passed some time. It wasn't really something he needed, and he could have just kept the cloak, but it bore too much sentimental value to just leave lying around in his room. Sure, he could have worn it instead of chopping it up, but a scarf was easier to carry. After making that decision, he'd decided to spend the day turning the cloak into a scarf. He wasn't exactly a dab-hand at sewing but he'd managed to find a blade and some stiff thread, along with what could pass as a needle, in the supply room. They were items usually used to patch up broken targets but more often than not such things were deemed too damaged to repair and tossed out.

Now daylight was arriving, he could try to venture over to the library.

He stared out of the window trying to gauge how sore his body still felt. He was feeling a lot better, despite not being able to grab much sleep. He'd had a nap, that was it, and even that had come in short bursts. (Granted the yells from the trainees and the commotion outside hadn't helped matters).

Things were coming to a halt outside and he spotted the last stragglers from the hunting mission returning to the barracks. He had no idea if the Mightyena pack were currently inside the library, but standing around in his room wasn't going to get him answers any time soon.

He slipped through the wall and warped himself over to the building. A sense of euphoria flooded his body and he chuckled. He had much more confidence this time around. With another small chuckle, he slipped through the library wall.

The Mightyena were nowhere to be found. They'd clearly not returned from their night prowling the Shadow Lands (or whatever it was they spent their nights doing). The floor was instead scattered with torn and damaged books that had been shredded up into a nest or used as chew toys. The bottoms of the shelves were in as equally bad a state and Enigma worried if he bumped them they might be easily knocked off balance and come crashing down, creating a domino effect throughout the entire building.

Despite the state of the floor, there were still hundreds of books to browse. He took his time strolling through the narrow aisles between the shelves checking titles and flicking through the old pages of various manuscripts. Most of them contained various eras of the region's history before Hydreigon took over. If books like this were in the library it was safe to guess it had been here long before this area became known as the Shadow Lands.

He was surprised at how different the world used to be. Pokemon would live in mixed groups for survival, water Pokemon often living alongside ground and flying types with small electric colonies. They preferred to live outside buildings whereas more bipedal Pokemon such as Lucario or Breloom would construct small huts or houses in or near woodlands.

He popped back the book he'd been flicking through and moved to a different part of the library. A faded notice had once said what books were contained there but it was illegible now. Mid-way down the aisle one book stood out at him with a deep purple and blue spine. He pulled it out and scanned the title – 'The Great War'.

The cover had a giant 'X' symbol embossed into it, but the back was blank. He flipped it open and turned over the first few pages. There were illustrations filling entire pages with what appeared to be a story written alongside them.

Gruff voices began to fill the library and Enigma froze. He peeked round the side of the bookshelf. The unmistakable shaggy bodies of Mightyena moved through the dark room, accompanied by their smaller kin.

His heart began to thud frantically in his chest and he glanced from side to side looking for the quickest escape route. He tucked the book under his scarf and stuck to the shadows, ducking behind the bookshelves as he made for the nearest wall. He had to move lightly to avoid his bell alerting the pack of dark Pokemon to his presence. Instead, it chimed lightly, drowned out by their voices, as he crept towards the wall. He placed his paw on it and froze.

He'd made a mistake.

He couldn't slip through the wall with a solid object in his paws.

If he wanted to take it with him he'd have to use the window.

And the nearest window was several feet to his right, towards the pack of Mightyena.

Enigma licked his lips as he stared at the window. Under normal circumstances he could make it there in a split second, but he couldn't warp with the book either. He could just drop it and slip through the wall, but he really wanted to take it with him. Coming back for it later wasn't a guaranteed option since if he dropped it, it would likely meet the fate of the other books on the floor.

Gritting his teeth he crept slowly towards the window, keeping a watchful eye on the other Pokemon. They were settling down to sleep out the day, still rumbling on in their gruff voices as they relayed the events of the night. Enigma had no interest in their stories, but he did pick up the odd words that strung together to create a brutal image of an attack on some Pokemon outside the Shadow Lands.

His foot struck a splintered shelf that lay propped up on a pile of discarded books and Enigma was thrown off balance, his bell ringing out loudly as he staggered to correct himself. Several yellow eyes suddenly fixed on his location and he froze.

"Someone's there," one of the Mightyena declared.

Another snorted. "I think you're right."

The two that had spoke stood up and paced towards him.

Abandoning all hope of going unseen, Enigma ran the last two feet to the window and vaulted through it. He pressed his back up against the outside wall and tried to catch his breath. The Mightyenas' voices could be heard from the window and Enigma moved sideways against the wall as one of them poked their nose out and sniffed the air.

"Can you see who it was?" The other one peered out over his brother's head.

"I can't see nothin' with your paw in my eye!"

"It had a bell," another voice announced. "What Pokemon has a bell? 'Cos I doubt it was a Chimecho!"

The other two laughed and abandoned the window.

"If it were, I tell you now it would have been an easy hunt!"

Enigma slipped round the corner and let out a long breath he'd been unaware he was holding. With that, he clutched the book to his chest and ran back to the barracks.

As far as he knew, he'd gone unseen.

Yurlik perched on top of the library, watching the young Banette as he shot back through his nestroom window.

...

Enigma was hooked.

With every turn of the page, the book he'd found just got better and better.

It had stared with a detailed description of a world filled with various Pokemon all living happily together. They were all watched over by a Pokemon called Xerneas who was of a type Enigma had never heard of before – the fairy type. He was the source of this type, and many other Pokemon had this typing also. Some pure, some as a primary or secondary type.

The pictures also detailed this peaceful scene, showing an Eevee, Pikachu and Espurr playing with a Poochyena, Axew and Bagon. Behind them was a Gardevoir and Altaria sharing drinks with a Shuppet in the shade of a tree. In the distance stood a stag Pokemon – Xerneas – watching over them on a hilltop. His antlers seemed to radiate light.

This picture had taken him by surprise. All he'd known in his short life was that dark and dragon Pokemon did not play with any Pokemon that didn't share their typing. The world was divided. If you weren't dark or dragon you were picked off and killed as Hydreigon tried to spread his kingdom throughout the region. Other Pokemon hid. Those that were brave fought back. Many lives were lost on both sides.

The story that he was reading took a drastic turn. A massive red and black bird called Yveltal wanted to fill the world with darkness. The Pokemon were divided, those that shared the Pokemon's dark type and those that didn't. Xerneas raised an army, sharing his powers with them so they could defeat the wretched bird.

Some of Yveltal's army were touched by light and drawn over to Xerneas's army, developing strengths that could fight back against the darkness. This infuriated Yveltal and he went into a full-out attack, dragging his army across the region.

Darkness was spreading throughout the land, claiming lives left and right as Yveltal sucked the life out of everything around it – Pokemon and plants alike – reduced to nothing more than a grey ash that crumbled at a mere touch.

Just when things were looking dire, the tables turned.

Hundreds of Xerneas's army shifted form through the use of stones gifted to them from the fairy Pokemon, granting them more power. They fought back, wiping out the darkness and pushing it back across the map, firing attacks that gave off a pink and purple light. The dark Pokemon dropped like flies. Some ran to Xerneas and fought back against the enemy.

Xerneas leapt forwards, small colourful plants shooting up around his hooves as they struck the ground, creating an explosion of colour and life amongst the grey, dead landscape. With a flick of his head, he struck Yveltal with his antlers. In a flash of light, the dark Pokemon was defeated and life spread across the region, reviving those that had fallen in battle.

Evil was defeated. The darkness was gone. Pokemon could live in peace once more.

Enigma sat back, leaving the book open on its last page.

He'd read it all in one sitting.

A Pokemon that could defeat the darkness...

He closed his eyes and chuckled. It was a nice thought. The darkness had claimed his family. It had claimed many lives. Pokemon – no – the _world_ needed a hero like Xerneas.

He closed the book and ran his paw over the giant 'X'.

The fairy type... he'd never heard of it. Maybe it was just created for this story, but if it were a story it was a little close to home. The world was in a diabolical state. It could have been written to give Pokemon a little hope.

A little hope that there was some light in the darkness.

If that were the case, it had certainly worked.

He picked up the book and set it under his bed, pulling the remains of the cloak over it.

The world needed a hero.

Maybe he could be that hero.

...

Shortly after sunset, Enigma's peaceful rest was disturbed.

Shouts and yells came through his window and he leapt from his bed to peer outside. A Hondoom – Howlinger – was commanding an army of Houdour under the supervision of Yurlik. The smaller dog Pokemon were spouting flames at the library while the Mighteyena pack stood aside like scolded puppies, some whining as they watched the desolation of their former den and some leering at the Houndour.

"I can't say I don't sympathise," Yurlik told the Mightyena alpha, "but it's Hydreigon's orders. There are books in there he doesn't want other Pokemon to see."

"We could have chewed them up for you," the Mightyena growled.

"How can we be certain you wouldn't read them yourselves?"  
"You think my pack can read?!" The Mightyena nearly laughed.

Enigma watched as flames erupted from the library windows, smoke billowing through cracks in the roof, the smell of burning wood and paper filling the air.

"Besides," Yurlik went on, "this place will simply be gutted. You can still shelter in there."

The roof caved in and several of the Houndour leapt out of the way as wooden rafters and stray stone tiles crashed onto the ground.

"Oh," Yurlik clicked his beak. "Maybe not."

The Mightyena leered at him and let out a low growl, his ears pulled back menacingly. He tore his eyes away from the Honchkrow and barked at his pack.

"Come on! We'll find _somewhere else_ to live." He shot another leer at Yurlik before trudging off with his pack in tow.

The Honchkrow turned his eyes to Enigma's window and the Banette leapt aside, letting the blind fall back into place. Great. So the massive bird had spotted him. He sighed and shook his head, making his way to the door. All that effort to go to the library and it gets burned down?

He stepped out of his room and stopped abruptly, his eyes widening. Kera took a small step back, her face equally surprised.

"Oh! Enigma!" She gave him a small smile. "I was just coming to get you. Are you feeling better?"

"Fantastic!" He swung on the door handle, slamming it shut in the process, then slipped past her. He crossed his arms behind his head and continued speaking as she fell in step beside him. "I've had a good rest. I think I'm ready for tonight."

"That's good to hear." She glanced at him then narrowed her eyes. "Wait, since when did you have a scarf?" Her eyes widened and she flashed one of her canines. "Hang on... did you chop up your cloak?!"

"Yes. It was much too cumbersome to wear."

"In what way was it cumbersome?!"

"It was designed for a Pokemon slimmer and taller than I am. It flapped around my legs and pulled across my shoulders." He shrugged. "So I turned it into a scarf."

"Well... if you didn't want to sell it, why not?" She didn't hide the sarcasm in her tone. "Anyway, we're back to standard training sessions today. I have no plans to go easy on you now you've evolved."

"I wouldn't expect you to." He grinned and closed his eyes. "It would be exceptionally dull."

She snorted. "It feels like you're older than me now. I should evolve myself and catch up."

He smirked at her. "I'd be delighted to see that."

They strolled into the training hall and several eyes turned to them on impulse. When the trainees and trainers spotted Enigma there were several raised eyebrows and some unimpressed sneers before they returned to their training regime.

Enigma crossed his arms and frowned, staring at the other Pokemon.

A female Scrafty – Niana – came over to him and glanced back at the trainee assassins before addressing the Banette.

"What? Were you expecting an applause?"

Enigma shrugged. "A thumbs up would have been nice."

Niana laughed. "Oh come on. None of them like the fact a ghost has joined our ranks. If it weren't for the fact Hydreigon wants a ghost assassin there'd be a price on your head to see who could assassinate you first."

Enigma snorted and pushed past her. "Let's just get this session over with."

He moved through the group of sneering Pokemon, Kera giving them a nervous glance as she kept up with him. The room had fallen into silence with only a couple of Pokemon still training, albeit half-heartedly.

Niana had clearly had enough of this as she clapped her paws which echoed loudly, startling the Pokemon back to work.

"All right, enough of this! Get a move on, trainees!"

Enigma snickered and turned to face Kera.

"You seem excited about this." She smirked. "Okay! Let's see what you can do."

He took a step back and flicked his claws, sending a shadow ball at the Sneasel. She raised both paws to shield her face, reducing the damage she took from the attack, and it vanished into a cloud of smoke. She gave him a grin, flashing her canines.

"Not bad."

She shot at him at lightning speed, raising her claws. He side-stepped, causing her to lose her balance as she tried to double back on him. She raised her claws again and he vanished into the ground, rising up behind her and striking her in the back. She fell forwards with the impact, landing face-first on the floor.

Enigma examined his claws as she rolled over to look at him.

"You've certainly gained some speed," she said.  
He chuckled. "Either that or you've slowed down."

She laughed and pushed herself to her feet. "Are you mocking me?"

"What?" His eyes widened and he feigned innocence. "Never."

She grinned. "Don't get cute with me, Enigma. It's not going to work."

"Not going to work?" He glanced down at her. "What do you think I'm trying to do?"

"Throw me off guard!" She ran at him again, nicking his fur with her sharp claws.

They danced back and fro, throwing attacks at each other, each one met with an artful dodge. When Kera thought she had Enigma where she wanted him, he'd vanish into the ground and pop up behind her. Soon she grew wise to this and span to meet his attack, beating back his claws and darting out of the way to strike him with a metal claw or feint attack.

Enigma chuckled as he dodged another feint attack, her claws merely brushing his side as he span out of the way with a jingle. It was followed by a flurry of ice that coated his fur with a bitter frost.

"Huh." He dusted it off with his paws.

Seeing an opening, Kera ran at him and he raised a paw, catching her claws before they came down past his face. She leapt back and raised her paws to ready another attack.

He inclined his head on one side and gave her a smile.

"You know, your eyes seem to sparkle when you think you've got me."

"Wha-?"

Her mouth gaped open and her eyes widened like ruby discs. The attack she'd been readying flew at Enigma and harmlessly dusted his fur with a frost that melted on contact.

He chuckled and waved a paw at her.

Her brow furrowed as her face turned crimson.

"When did you learn that?" she scoffed.

"What?" He snickered and moved over to her, folding his paws behind his back. "You had no idea I could be... captivating?"

He burst into fits of laughter as the Sneasel's blush spread to her ears. She span and smacked his arms, but it only caused him to laugh harder.

"You should see your face!" He clutched his stomach and fell to his bottom.

"Shut up!" she snapped. "You caught me off guard, that's all."

He caught his breath and ran a paw across his eyes, then looked up at her. "Well... I think I'll bare that in mind." He stood up and grinned at her. "Shall we continue?"

"No, I..." She faltered and turned to the door, moving through the crowd of Pokemon. "I think I need a small break."  
Enigma followed after her. "Already? It's a little early for dinner."

She leered at him. "Well trying to hit you is tiring!"  
He crossed his paws behind his head and closed his eyes. "I could go easier on you if you like?"  
Kera tutted. "I think your ego inflated when you evolved."

The training room door closed and Enigma leant back against the wall and watched her.

"Don't be long," he said. "It gets incredibly dull, waiting."

She snorted and moved off down the corridor.

Enigma chuckled and looked away from her, staring at the far wall. Things were looking up. Hopefully he'd be strong enough to graduate from trainee soon, and then he'd be able to escape this place.

And take Kera with him.

...

 **Part 2 will be uploaded next week.**

 **Please R &R! =D**


	3. Hero (Part 2)

**A/N - IMPORTANT - If you are sensitive to references of self harm or dislike gruesome scenes, I've marked off the part that has this in it with bold dots and an exclamation at its start and end so you can identify which part to avoid. I don't want to upset anyone by throwing that on you without warning!**

 **So, here's the second part to Enigma's story. It's a hefty size, but I hope you like it.**

 **Merry Christmas! =D Just two days!**

 **Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its critters!**

Hero - Part 2

A year swept by, each day almost identical to the next. Each night, Enigma would train or do practice missions, each day he either napped or explored the Shadow Lands, often going invisible to check the perimeter. The walls were heavily guarded by the Murkrow flock which rotated day and night, the sharp-eyed birds keeping an eye on the Border Woods or overlooking the other dark Pokemon since the risk of rebellion had increased after the takeover.

Pokemon could flee the Shadow Lands, but they were chased and tracked down to be killed before they left the woods. With the guards' diligence, it was unlikely Enigma would be able to escape after he finished the training. Well... he could escape alone, but as soon as he was noticed missing, the Wildfires or Mightyena would track him down and sniff him out. Not to mention, escaping with Kera would only make things more difficult since she couldn't go invisible unlike him.

He'd have to wait until they were assigned their first mission and escape that way. It was simple – be sent out, and don't come back.

The world was much bigger beyond the Border Woods. Trying to find two lone Pokemon in the big, wide world would be difficult even for an army with an acute sense of smell.

As he returned to the barracks one evening, the sun setting behind it and casting the sky in a vibrant red dramatically interspersed with wispy black clouds, he spotted a young Weavile leaning against the wall. His mouth turned up into a smile and he sped up to join her.

Kera flashed him a grin and crossed her arms. Despite having evolved, she looked hardly any different to him. The same bright eyes and playful smile, with a posture and attitude that was both strong and feminine set her apart from other Pokemon.

When he reached her he gave her a grin and she punched him playfully in the stomach.

"Where've you been?" She asked. "I went to your room and you weren't there. I've been waiting here for ages."

He laughed and straightened up again after being momentarily winded.

"I went for a walk. Why aren't you still in bed?"

She shrugged and turned away from him to head back inside. "I couldn't sleep. I think your insomnia is catching."

He chuckled and folded his paws behind his head, following her inside.

"What's the plan for tonight?" he asked.

"More training."

He closed his eyes and yawned loudly. "Same old same old."

She gave him a half-smile. "Sadly I'm not in charge of such arrangements."

"You could be." He fixed her with a pleading stare. "Why don't we just goof off and do something else?"

"Are you kidding? They'd find us."

He grinned. "Then we could play hide and seek. Find out how good the noses on those hounds really are."

She laughed and pushed the door open to the training hall. "You're insane."

"Nope. Just bored."

The hall was filled with the usual group of trainees – two Weavile and a handful of Sneasel, a Purrloin, three Gabite and a Noibat. Niana and her brother Jex were observing, giving pointers to some of the newer members.

"All right," said Kera. "I want to get it right this time."

"Get what right?" Enigma asked boredly.

"This."

The Weavile flew at him, her claws curled into fists. She brought one down towards his face and his eyes widened with surprise. He raised an arm to block the attack and side-stepped, watching as she landed nimbly on her feet and turned to try again.

Enigma chuckled as he dodged, the air whipping up beside him as she shot past. She turned on her heel and sent a flurry of ice at him which coated him with a frost that sent a bitter chill through his bones.

She grinned. "That oughta slow you down!"

Doubling back, she raised her fists, her face filled with confidence. Enigma chuckled and vanished into the floor... but before he could completely vanish, Kera struck him several blows to the body and he fell back from her, his face twisted in a grimace.

She stood before him and grinned. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

He chuckled again and wiped a paw across his mouth where the Weavile had hit him. Before he could retort, he felt a heavy paw on his shoulder.

Niana stood over him smiling fondly at Kera.

"That was impressive." She turned to Enigma. "Normally you give her a good run for her money." She frowned but a small smirk spread across her face. "You're not going easy on her now are you?"

Enigma flushed and looked away from her. "Wh-why would I go easy on her? I want to graduate as much as anyone else in this place!"

Kera doubled over with laughter.

"Well, I wouldn't say that. There are some pretty lazy lumps in this place." Niana looked over at a Gabite leaning against the wall as he watched his other two brethren. "Oi! Fanlen! Stop observing and swap places with Tannen!"

She released Enigma and moved over to the training dragons.

Enigma turned his attention to Kera. She was smirking at him, her paws clasped behind her back.

"You'd better not be going easy on me," she warned him.

He snorted. "Not in the slightest. You took me by surprise with that icy wind, that's all."

"Hmm." Her smile grew broader. "That, and your movements are getting a little predictable."

He narrowed his eyes. "Predictable?"

She laughed and waved a paw at him. "Oh come on, you have a pattern!"

He snorted. Predictable, huh? Silently, he vanished into the floor. He reappeared a few feet away, maintaining his invisibility.

Kera turned left and right, trying to spot him in the busy room.

Enigma chuckled quietly to himself and leant against the wall, watching as the Weavile moved around the room, searching the shadows with her eyes and checking the walls carefully. She knew it was futile. If he was invisible there was no way she would find him.

As she moved along the wall towards the main door, he paced across the room, dodging the battling Pokemon and stopped beside her. As she moved past him he grabbed her arm, causing her to yell in surprise. The room fell into momentary silence as the other Pokemon took in the situation and, dismissing it as pointless, returned to their training.

"There," Enigma said with a smirk. "That was different, wasn't it?"

The irritation that spread across Kera's face told him she wasn't impressed.

"That was just a childish prank," she snorted.

Enigma frowned. "Childish?"

"I thought you were annoyed with me! For all I knew, you'd left the room. I was going to go looking for you."  
He chuckled. So she was worried? Keeping a firm grip on her arm he led her back to their previous spot and nudged her ahead of him.

They recommenced their training, but despite warming up, the effects of the icy wind still lingered and he wasn't as fast as he'd previously been. Kera's use of dark attacks were wearing him down and another blanket of frost on his fur wasn't helping matters.

It was time for him to break out a move he'd been practising over the past few days. That should spice things up a bit.

And now was as good a moment as any.

Kera was racing at him, ready to strike him with that furious attack she'd demonstrated earlier.

Enigma vanished. Not into the ground, and not via invisibility. He just vanished.

Kera faltered for a moment, blinking in confusion as she stared at the spot he'd previously occupied. With a soft jingle, he reappeared behind her, striking her hard in the back. She went flying forwards, a look of pure surprise on her face.

He warped in front of her and caught her in his arms just as she was about to hit the floor.

The Weavile's look of surprise was replaced by a deep blush as Enigma set her back on her feet. She looked away from him and cleared her throat.

"What was _that_?"

"Phantom force." He examined his claws and let out a sigh, his arms falling limply to his side. "It's just not fast enough. I don't like it."

"Don't _like_ it?" she gasped. "That's your strongest attack yet!"  
He shrugged. " It doesn't matter how strong it is, it's not fast enough."

A movement at the window caught his eye. Jex was outside, making his way back to the barracks talking with someone Enigma couldn't see. When had he slipped out? Enigma turned and made for the door.

"Where are you going?"

He glanced back at her. "I need a break. I'll be back later."  
It wasn't exactly a lie. He did need a break. Kera's attacks were strong and despite holding back they were somewhat relentless. He'd been planning on grabbing some berries and sitting down soon anyway, but spotting Jex nattering with an unseen Pokemon had piqued his interest and finalised his decision to take said break.

He went transparent as the door to the training hall closed behind him. The door to the barracks swung open and Jex ushered a timid-looking Pokemon inside.

Enigma raised an eyebrow. It was a peculiar Pokemon indeed. A Zorua with bright blue markings to match their bright blue eyes.

"If poison's your speciality, you might be adding a bit of variety to our training sessions," Jex told the Zorua conversationally.

The latter didn't look impressed. They kept their head low, not looking at the Scrafty.

Jex stopped by a door – the room next to Enigma's – and opened it, nudging the Zorua inside.

"Look, I can understand you're scared, but you're here now. I'll send someone in more your age. Maybe you'll be willing to talk to them and they can show you around." He closed the door and moved back down the hallway.

Enigma side-stepped out of Jex's way and strutted down the corridor.

"Enigma?"

The Banette chuckled and re-materialised, turning to face the Scrafty.

"A little tip," Jex told him. "If you're going to spy, either remove or silence your bell."

Enigma leant back against the wall and crossed his arms, fixing Jex with an amused grin.

"I couldn't help it. I was curious."

"I'm not annoyed." Jex nodded at the room with the Zorua. "I was actually going to get you. Do you think you can... you know... show him around?"

"What? You think I'm his age?"

Jex shrugged. "You're likely the closest. See what you can do."

"All right. I guess I can give it a shot."

Enigma turned and marched to the door, his bell ringing with each step. He didn't knock. He slipped through the door and returned to his invisibility as he surveyed the new Pokemon.

The Zorua was curled up on the floor, ignoring the bed and hay. They were rather scrawny, their thin frame hidden under a shaggy mess of dark fur. Their face was also rather pointed for a male, giving them a feminine appearance. The fur on their face was wet with tears that still trickled from their closed eyes.

Enigma frowned and looked away from the Zorua. He'd felt that way himself when he'd arrived here. Maybe this Pokemon had experienced a similar thing to him?

He strolled across the room to sit on the bed, his bell ringing out softly around him.

The Zorua's ears twitched and a pair of anxious sapphire eyes searched the room.

"Who's there?"

Enigma flopped onto the hay and looked at the small Pokemon. Their voice was as equally androgynous as their appearance. Female Zorua were oddly rare, and Jex had referred to this one as male, so Enigma was just going to go with that. He must have had a clear reason for it.

The Banette let himself materialise and he leant back against the wall, folding his arms behind his head. He grinned at the Zorua and the small Pokemon curled up into an even smaller ball, fixing wide, blue eyes on him.

He let a chuckle escape from him as he watched the cowering Zorua. He shook his head and sighed.

"Well, isn't this interesting? Dark Pokemon aren't usually afraid of me."

The Zorua fidgeted and pushed himself up into a semi-sitting position. "I... didn't see you."

"You've got nothing to be afraid of," Enigma explained. "After all the training I've endured today, if you were to fire a dark pulse at me right now you'd probably put me in a coma."

He laughed at his dry joke but when the Zorua didn't join in he shrugged it off and huffed, crossing his paws behind his head again.

"So why are you here?" he asked. "From your attitude I assume you've not joined willingly."

The Zorua shifted uneasily and glanced at Enigma before diverting his eyes to the satchel bag on the floor.

"I was kidnapped," he said flatly.

"Hmm." Enigma stared at him for a moment. Kidnapped? It made him feel sick. Maybe this was another Pokemon he could take with him when he escaped? That was provided they were sent on the same mission, however.

"What about you?" the Zorua asked. "You don't look much older than I am."  
"How old are you?"

"Seven seasons."

Enigma snorted a little laughter. "Yeh, I'm older."  
"Really?"  
The Zorua had pulled something out of his bag. It was an odd stone held inside a metal hoop. It hung off a long piece of black thong that he seemed intent on tying together but he wasn't having much success.

"Yeh. Add a year on that, kid." Enigma grinned. "What am I supposed to call you then? I'm guessing you have a name."

"Harlequin."

"Too long. I'm calling you Harle."

He warped from the bed and back in a split second, snatching the strange piece of jewellery from Harlequin and catching it as he tossed it back to his seat. Harlequin let out a cry of protest and leapt to his feet, his fur bristling along his back and spiking up around the base of his tail.

"Give that back!" he snapped.

Enigma ignored him, turning the strange object around in his paws. It looked familiar somehow... he let it fall on the end of the string, holding it in both claws.

A blast of shadow exploded by his head and his eyes shot wide open. He fixed them on the Zorua. Harlequin leered at him, his lips pulled back from his sharp canines.

"That was just a warning shot. Give. It. Back."

Enigma sighed and quickly knotted the strings together before tossing it back to the Zorua.

"I was only tying it for you. No need to get so aggressive."

Harlequin stared down at it before picking it up in his jaws and quickly looping it around his neck. He mumbled something that sounded like an apology or a thank you and flopped exhausted onto the floor.

"You seem tired," Enigma told him. "I guess I should probably let you get some rest?"

Harlequin shrugged.

Enigma slipped off the bed and strolled to the door.

The Zorua's voice froze him before he reached the handle. "You've not told me _your_ name."

He glanced back at Harlequin and gave a small smile.

"It's Enigma. I'll be back later."

He slipped through the door without opening it and a long sigh escaped him. That Zorua... what was he doing with that stone? He paused by his own door and placed a paw on it. That stone... He knew where he'd seen it now. It all came back to him.

It was in that book.

...

Daylight leaked in through the window, spreading across the pages of the book as Enigma flicked through it, closely examining the pictures of the Pokemon that wore those strange stones. They did resemble the one Harlequin had, but he was still unclear on what exactly they did. Some had them hanging around their necks, some on bracelets, some on scarves or ribbons. But one thing remained the same – every Pokemon that transformed wore two.

There was a small scratch at his door. He froze and slammed the book shut, swinging over the edge of the bed and sticking it back beneath the remains of his cloak.

The door swung open and Harlequin dropped onto all-fours and crept inside, watching him carefully.

Enigma stared back at him, his eyes questioning. Harlequin seemed to take the hint and glanced away.

"I... I can't sleep," he told him.

Enigma grunted and flopped back onto his nest. "Join the club."

"I guessed you'd still be awake," Harlequin went on. "I can tell you have sleeping trouble with the dark patches under your eyes."

Enigma looked over at the Zorua. He was now sat by the closed door, his blue eyes fixed on him. He still had that nervous edge, clear in the way he shifted his front paws against the floor. He'd also brought his satchel with him which was strung over his back.

"How did you find me?" Enigma asked. "I never told you my room."

"Smell," Harlequin answered bluntly.

That figures. Enigma looked back at the ceiling and pressed an arm across his eyes.

"What do you want?"

"I..." Harlequin faltered. "You're the only Pokemon I've... spoken to here. I wanted to apologise for threatening you... and... well, I don't really know what to do..."

Enigma chuckled and sat up, propping his back against the wall. He flashed Harlequin a grin.

"To be honest, there's not much to do here."

"Well, what do _you_ do?"  
"Train." Enigma closed his eyes and crossed his paws behind his head. "Go for walks. Hang out with Kera."

"Kera?"  
Enigma fixed an eye on Harlequin. "She's a friend of mine. You'll meet her later."

Harlequin made a noise akin to an 'oh' as he looked back at the door. "I guess she's asleep?"

"Yeh, she's not exactly diurnal."

Harlequin yawned. "I should probably try to get some sleep. They'll want me in the morning, won't they?"

Enigma shrugged. "If you want to sleep, sleep. Just close the door behind you."

Harlequin stared at the door with uncertainty, shifting his weight on his paws again.

"What's the problem? Forgot where your room is?"

The Zorua shook his head and looked back at him. "I'm in a strange place. I don't really..." He trailed off as he looked back at the door.

Enigma fidgeted with the hem of his scarf. "We can take a walk if you like?"  
"A walk?"

"It'll get you familiar with the place."  
Harlequin was looking from Enigma to the door and back, his eyes wide and fearful. Enigma chuckled and swung his legs over the edge of the bed to face him.

"It might also tire you out," he told the Zorua. "Then you'll sleep."

"I... I... I..." Harlequin's back was tense and he was almost sat completely on his haunches, his toes being the only part of his forepaws that touched the floor.

Enigma laughed and strolled over to the door, placing a paw on Harlequin's shoulder as he passed. He was about to instruct the Zorua to come with him when a loud bark came from the smaller Pokemon and he snapped at his paw. Enigma span away from him as Harlequin bolted across the room.

Enigma clutched his paw instinctively and stared at Harlequin. His back was arched and bristling, his head low and ears pulled back against his head. Enigma shook his head in disbelief and looked away. This was one odd Pokemon. He examined his paw which fortunately wasn't wounded then opened the door.

"Are you coming?" He didn't look at Harlequin.

A low whine came from the Zorua.

"I'm sorry... just... don't touch me."

Enigma chuckled and ran a paw over his face. "Noted."

"I... I should leave you now." Harlequin padded silently over to the door, not making eye contact with Enigma. "I'm sorry, I've... not had a good day."

Enigma raised an eyebrow at the Zorua's words. He had every suspicion that they were an incredible understatement.

"Hey."

Harlequin froze and glanced back at him from the corner of his eye.

"Wait here," Enigma told him. "I'll go and get us some snacks."

Enigma slipped past him and looked back at the Zorua. He stood in the doorway uncertainly then retreated backwards so he was back inside.

"What do you like?" Enigma asked him.

Harlequin glanced away and licked his lips. "I prefer meat to berries."  
"All right. Wait here."

Enigma closed the door then turned down the hallway chuckling to himself. Unbelievable. What was he doing? Nervous, aggressive... That Pokemon was probably dangerous.

...

Enigma sat on the floor of his room leaning back against the wall. It wasn't the comfiest place to sit, but Harlequin had seemed restless until he joined him on the floor. He had no idea what the odd Pokemon's reasons were, but at least he'd calmed down and curled up to eat something.

Conversation had been somewhat sporadic. The Zorua had talked a little about their past but had missed out what Enigma guessed were large chunks.

He eventually found the right time to ask about that strange stone, but he hadn't been expecting such an alarming answer.

"So what is it then?" he'd asked.

"What's what?"

"That strange stone you're wearing."

"Oh." Harlequin looked down and placed a paw over it as though worried he might try to steal it. "It belonged to a friend."

"Did they say what it was?"

"No. Just that it was an heirloom."

Enigma raised an eyebrow. "So what are you doing with it?"

Harlequin's eyes were suddenly filled with an immense sadness and he looked away. He was silent for a long moment and when he finally spoke up it took the Banette by surprise.

"He died."

"Oh!" Enigma glanced away and absently picked up a strip of dried fish. "I'm... guessing it wasn't natural?"

"No." Harlequin paused. "He was murdered."

Enigma nibbled on the strip of meat, his eyes fixed on the window. If it had happened in the Border Woods, he could only assume Yurlik was behind it. His Murkrow flock filled those trees night and day on the look-out for new rebels.

"Was he a Zorua?" he asked.

Harlequin shook his head. "He was an Absol."

The strip of meat fell from Enigma's claws onto the floor. "An Absol?"

His voice had come out with a streak of disgust and Harlequin's fur bristled as he fixed him with a sapphire glare.

Enigma chuckled and waved a paw. "I'm sorry, I... I'm just surprised, that's all."

"Why?" Harlequin scoffed. "You're probably one of those that helped chase him out of here!"

Enigma felt his eyes widen briefly and he shook his head.

"No. I'd heard an Absol clan was recently attacked here, but I had nothing to do with it."

"You didn't exactly help to stop it either."

"It was fleeting news, Harlequin. Pokemon are rebelling and being run out of here almost daily. News like that just falls into the folds these days to be forgotten about."

"So you don't care."

"I'm not saying I don't care." Enigma paused, watching the Zorua as he pawed at the odd stone. "At least he had a friend. And I think he'd be glad to know you're keeping that safe."

Harlequin grunted and looked away.

Silence washed over them once more and Enigma sighed, brushing the strip of meat aside. He'd probably cost this Pokemon's trust... or he'd likely never even had it in the first place.

"He was called Harbinger."

Enigma looked up at him. He was lay with his paws folded over the stone, avoiding eye contact with the Banette.

Enigma didn't say anything. He just nodded. It was a strange name for an Absol to go by, almost as though he'd resigned himself to everyone else's opinion.

"We were meant to run away together," Harlequin went on. "But now... that will never happen. I'm stuck here."

He lowered his head onto his paws and closed his eyes as tears streaked their way over his dark fur. He turned his face away from Enigma and curled up into a small ball.

Enigma sighed and leant his head against the wall. With the Zorua's odd behaviour and the revelation of his lost friend, he could assume the small Pokemon had been through a lot. The fractured bursts of conversation had been somewhat strained on his part and he'd not once pressed Enigma for any details about himself, not that he was desperate to talk about his own past, and certainly not now. The poor Zorua was clearly distraught that dealing with anyone else's pain would be too much for his shattered heart to bear.

Harlequin's deep, steady breathing indicated he'd finally fallen asleep. He remained that way until the light at the window started to dwindle.

Enigma was aware he'd been lightly dozing himself when Harlequin woke him up with a yawn and tucked in to what was left of their meal. He wanted to ask him if he was feeling better but decided against it. He didn't want to set the Zorua off again.

"Good sleep?" he asked instead.

Harlequin shrugged. "I've had better."

The door opened and they both stared at it, Enigma with surprise and Harlequin with alarm. Kera stepped into the room and gave Enigma a large grin before her eyes fell on Harlequin.

"Oh, you're awake?" Enigma chuckled and nodded to the Zorua. "Kera, this is-"

His voice tapered off as he looked from Kera to Harlequin. The Weavile was fixing him with a paralysing glare. The fur along Harlequin's back bristled as a look of pure fury filled his eyes.

"Well." Enigma stood up. "It looks like you two are going to be _great_ friends."

Kera's claws fastened firmly around his paw.

"Enigma? A moment?"  
He staggered sideways as she dragged him from his room and closed the door before fixing him with that same paralysing glare.

"Can you explain to me what's going on?" she hissed.

"Easily." He shrugged. "Harlequin's new, and by the sounds of it has been through a lot."

Kera's expression told him that was not enough information. Her claws were almost digging into his flesh and he tried desperately not to grimace.

He let out a small sigh. "Come on, Kera. That poor Zorua reminds me of me when I first got here. Can't you just... let him hang around with us?"

" _Him_?" Kera raised an eyebrow, then chuckled as a small smile played across her lips. She released his paw and folded her arms. "Sure. _He_ can hang around with us."

Enigma flashed her a grin then opened the door, leading the Weavile back inside. He took his spot by the wall again, watching as Harlequin's eyes followed Kera's movements as she joined Enigma's side. She settled down next to him and grabbed one of the remaining pecha berries. She tossed it into the air and sliced it in two with her claws, offering one half to Enigma with a fond smile.

Harlequin snorted and rose to his feet and marched to the door.

"Hey, Harle, where are you going?" Enigma asked.

The Zorua looked back at him. "Leaving."  
With that, he slipped out through the door and let it close behind him.

Kera caught Enigma's eye with a smirk.

"What?" he scoffed.

She laughed and shook her head. "You are such an idiot."

...

Harlequin's addition to the training group had caused quite a strange scene that night. The Zorua had pestered Niana for a blunt stick he could carry in his mouth. Despite the Scrafty's protests against the use of tools, she eventually resigned and gave Harlequin a small branch freshly broken from a tree by the barracks. Harlequin hadn't been too impressed with this. His words were merely, 'It'll do.'

He was paired up with Niana, posing a distraction for both Enigma and Kera, amongst others, as he tried his best to dodge the Scrafty's attacks and strike her on the side with the branch as he ran past. Their conversation was inaudible over the voices of the other trainees.

When the session finally came to an end and the Pokemon began to flow out of the room, Harlequin lingered behind to examine the jagged branch.

Enigma caught the words, "I'll have to file this down," as he joined the Zorua's side.

"What's with the stick?" he asked.

"I use poisons," Harlequin answered bluntly. "I don't engage in standard combat."

"Poisons?" Kera scoffed.

Enigma glanced behind him at the Weavile. He hadn't noticed her join them.

"Why would you use poisons?" she asked. "You're a dark Pokemon. Use your attacks."

"I've been training in poisons," Harlequin told her. "And I've been taken in here as a poison assassin. Not another hack and slash like you."

Kera bared her canines and in one swift motion brought her claws down towards Harlequin's face. The Zorua grabbed his branch and brought it up in an arc to meet the Weavile's claws. A loud crack echoed around the room and wooden splinters fell to the floor around them.

Kera stood breathing heavily as Harlequin stared down at the shattered wood.

"Oh dear," Kera chuckled. "It looks like you'll have to use your attacks. And going off your small size, I'm guessing you're not very strong."

Harlequin looked up at her, his lips pulled back from his teeth in a snarl.

"I can hold my own!" he growled.

"Hah!" Kera admired her claws then smirked at Harlequin. "You think you can beat an evolved Pokemon with your puny size?"

Enigma sighed and rubbed a paw over his face. "Can you two stop this? It's ridiculous!"

"Yes, I can!" Harlequin barked, completely ignoring Enigma. "Because I don't plan to evolve!"

Kera snorted. "You think you're not going to evolve? Is that what using tools is about?" She laughed. "Tools or not, when you're in combat you're in combat. Like it or not, you _will_ evolve."  
Harlequin growled. "Then I'll wear an everstone!"

"You can't." Kera smirked. "Jewellery is forbidden."

Harlequin looked up at Enigma as though asking for clarification.

He nodded and gave a small shrug. "It's for safety reasons."

"But..." Harlequin inclined his head on one side, giving Enigma a quizzical look. "You wear a bell and a scarf."

"I'm a ghost," he told him. "They're made from ghost materials, so I can manipulate them. Not to mention if I were wearing something I couldn't manipulate I could vanish through it anyway. Other Pokemon aren't quite so fortunate."

Kera didn't hide her mocking grin. "Deal with it, kid. You're going to evolve, like it or not."

Harlequin shook his head, tears filling his blue eyes. He turned sharply and ran.

Kera turned to Enigma, ignoring his unimpressed frown, and crossed her arms.

"Seriously, Enigma. What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _me_? You just laid into that poor kid!"

"That Zorua has a crush on you," she told him.

"Are you insane? He's _male_!"

Kera leant towards him, her arms still folded across her chest. " _He_ is a _she_."

Enigma frowned. "Well... no one else thinks so."

"Then everyone else is crazy." Kera walked away from him and threw her paws in the air. "I'm surrounded by crazy Pokemon that clearly can't spot a Zorua's gender!"

Enigma leant his shoulder against the wall. "I think someone's jealous!"

"What?" Kera stopped by the door and looked back at him.

He grinned and moved over to her. "You're jealous because now _two_ Pokemon are demanding my attention. So jealous it's clouded your judgement."

She frowned and a light blush dusted her face. "You really are insane."

"Well, you don't have to worry." Enigma's voice came out soft, causing her to blush even more. "I have no interest in Harlequin. And even if you're right – which I doubt – they're much too hung up on losing their friend. Or love interest, if he actually is female."

He slipped past her to the door.

"I'm sorry."

He looked back at her. She was leaning against the wall, her eyes closed.

"I got defensive," she said. "It's not easy, with the rules they have in place for assassins. You know we're not allowed to..." She paused and scratched her ear with a sigh. "We're not allowed partners. I'm not even entirely sure we're allowed friends."

Enigma flopped sideways into the door-frame and stared blankly out at the hallway. Kera was right. The rules they had to live by were harsh – no loved ones, no family. Friends hadn't been mentioned. But the risk of having someone used against them, effecting their work, performance, motives – such things were forbidden.

He turned his head to look at her. She was still stood against the wall with her eyes closed, absently rubbing one paw over the other. His heart ached. He wanted to just tell her how he felt, rather than dropping hints. But sadly such things would have to wait until they were out of this place.

He looked away and let a chuckle escape his throat. Anything to mask his current feelings.

"I'm going to take a walk," he said. "Do you want to join me?"

She gave a single, half-hearted laugh. "Sure. I really need to wind down after all that"

 **...!**

The sun was high in the sky when Enigma and Kera returned to the barracks. Kera was seeming much more relaxed, and rather tired, so she bade Enigma farewell as she reached her room. He gave her a smile then folded his paws behind his head, continuing on down the hallway until he reached his door. He didn't really know what to do. He was feeling tired, but he could already tell his mind wasn't going to stop whirring and give him any peace. He'd probably just lie there on his bed thinking about what he would do once they were finally away from the Shadow Lands, or keep running over what they'd been talking about earlier.

He reached for the door and his paw hovered above the handle. Something had caught his eye, drawing his attention to the ground a mere couple of feet away. The door to the room next to him was shut, but something was running out from beneath it. A small trickle that at first glance could have been nothing more than mucky water running over the dirty ground. But as Enigma stared at it, what it was became more and more prominent.

Blood.

His eyes widened and his heart lurched in his chest. Harlequin!

He shot to the door and threw it open. Harlequin was lay sprawled on the floor with an iron thorn clasped between his teeth. His face was still wet with tears and twisted in pain as he jabbed at his right foreleg with the sharp object. The formerly black fur was marred with sticky blood but the edge of a jagged stone could be made out amongst the mess.

"What are you _doing_?!" Enigma slammed the door and dropped to his side, snatching the sharp tool from his teeth.

"Give that back! I need to put a stop to it!" Harlequin barked.

Enigma merely stuttered as he tried to take the situation in. Stop what?

"I won't evolve," Harlequin whined. "I'll never evolve!"  
Enigma grabbed the Zorua's wounded limb. So that's what that stone was?

"No! Get off me!"  
He ignored Harlequin's pleas as he took in the rest of the room. The scattered objects hadn't registered straight away, since his eye was instantly drawn to the hysterical Pokemon lying on the floor. Just visible in the puddle of blood was a fine needle and a sheet of cloth. What he'd found hadn't been an attempt at self-mutilation but some flawed attempt at surgery.

Harlequin roared and twisted in his grip, trying to catch Enigma with his teeth. Deciding to take a harsher approach, Enigma moved himself so he was sat upon the Zorua's body, pinning him to the floor with his weight. He pinched at the slippery shard of stone in vain as he tried to remove it, causing Harlequin to howl in pain.

"I'm sorry, Harlequin, but it's not going to heal!" He glanced down at the writhing Pokemon. "And if I don't get it out, you're going to bleed to death!"  
Harlequin's howls came to an abrupt halt and his head flopped against the floor in defeat, his jaw clamped tightly shut. He knew he was right.

"Okay." Enigma picked up the discarded iron thorn, keeping a firm grip on Harlequin's paw. "I don't want to hurt you any more than this is going to, so stay still."  
Harlequin let out a small squeak as fresh tears flowed from his eyes.

Enigma stifled a sigh as he set to work removing the object embedded in the Zorua's limb. It felt like it took much longer than it did. Harlequin let out a despaired whine as the sliver of stone came free. Wasting no time, Enigma grabbed the fine needle, pleased to find Harlequin had already secured thread to it, and swiftly fastened the deep wound as tight as he could manage. The next step was bandaging it, but the cloth Harlequin had left on the floor was now in no condition to wrap around a wound.

Enigma stood up and moved over to the wall.

"Wait there."

He grit his teeth. In his condition, Harlequin would be going nowhere. Saying such things was pointless.

He slipped through the wall and quickly gathered a small piece of the cloak he'd stuffed under his bed. When he rejoined Harlequin, the Zorua was in the same position he'd left him in.

Shredding the cloth in two, he fastened both pieces firmly around Harlequin's leg. It wasn't a perfect job, but it would have to do.

He released him and stood up, gathering the piece of stone in his paws. He turned it round to examine it. It was obvious what it was. An everstone. That argument earlier had caused Harlequin to try some convoluted method to carry it on him permanently. This piece was thin and fragile and looked like it had been chipped off a much larger stone. The jagged edge gave that away, and also gave him the terrible feeling part of it may have broken off as he'd tried to pry it out of Harlequin's body. He shook his head and let his arms fall to his side. It was too late to worry about that now.

He stared down at Harlequin and cast his eyes over the ground. The amount of blood made it look like a slaughterhouse. However, with the amount of writhing Harlequin had done, it looked much worse than it was.

He stooped to gather the Zorua in his arms and lift him onto his nest. He was as light as he looked, having barely any mass to him. Once he was settled on the hay, Enigma once again looked down at the floor.

"I'm going to get some water," he told the Zorua. "Hopefully I can wash this away. I'll bring you some to drink, and some berries too."

Harlequin said nothing.

Relieved he was still breathing, Enigma slipped out of the room and went through the back exit of the barracks. It opened at the river which flowed away from the Shadow Lands. Several large buckets were lay next to it. Enigma filled two and dragged them back to Harlequins room where he sloshed both over the floor. It certainly cleared away the worst of it, but any more water and the ground would just become a muddy, boggy mess.

He dropped the buckets back where he found them and swung by the store room, returning to Harlequin with a glass of water and a plate of sitrus berries.

"Here." He set them on the end of his bed.

Harlequin didn't move, but his erratic breathing was a clear sign he was still awake.

"Harlequin..." Enigma sighed. " _Please_ eat something."

The Zorua's lack of response caused him to give an exasperated sigh. He picked up the glass of water and moved over to Harlequin's head.

"Harle?"

Nothing.

He reached out a paw to the Zorua's face. He flinched and jerked his head away from him, his lips pulled back from his teeth.

"Leave me alone..."

Enigma nodded and placed the glass back at the foot of the bed. He made his way to the adjoining wall and paused to glance back at him.

"I'll leave, but promise me you'll eat those berries."  
Harlequin kept his back to him, so Enigma had no idea if he'd given him a response. He shook his head and slipped out of the room.

One thing was for certain now. With those morbid scenes in his mind, he definitely wouldn't be getting any sleep.

 **...!**

A soft scratch resounded through Enigma's door. He glanced at it from his bed and closed the book he was reading, stuffing it back under the stone slab and dragging what was left of the scraps of Duskclops cloth over it. He glanced back up at the door as it opened and Harlequin's blue eyes peered at him from the other side.

The Zorua diverted his gaze away from him and his voice came out small and meek. "You're awake."

Enigma grunted and gave a nod as he flopped onto his back. "I often am." He looked at Harlequin again, but all he could see of him was his head. "How's your leg?"  
The Zorua shrugged and moved into the room, avoiding placing his right paw on the floor. His fur was damp and clean from blood, but the bandage on his leg was virtually bone dry. Enigma assumed he'd cleaned himself in the river recently.

Enigma folded his paws behind his head and closed his eyes. "You missed training."

"Oh."  
"I did check on you before it started but you were asleep. I see you did eat those berries, though."

When Harlequin didn't respond, Enigma opened an eye to look at him. He was sat a few feet from the bed, staring at the floor. He'd finally put his paw down too. So he could put some weight on it at least. That ruled out any major concern.

With a sigh, Enigma pushed himself up. "It's daylight. Don't you normally sleep?"  
"How many Pokemon have you told?"

Harlequin's question took Enigma by surprise. He felt his eyes widen and he looked at the window.

"I've not told anyone."  
Harlequin gave a small laugh. "Then they're going to be wondering what I've done, aren't they?"  
"What do you mean?"  
Harlequin looked at him, a smirk playing at his mouth. "Oh come on. If I go limping into the training hall, they'll know I've done _something_."  
Enigma snorted. "You don't have to go into detail."  
Harlequin closed his eyes and laughed.

Enigma frowned. This Pokemon certainly was a puzzle. He ran a paw over his face and let out a flustered sigh.

"Do you _want_ me to go around broadcasting it?"

"That's up to you. I don't really care." Harlequin fixed his blue eyes on his. "But you can tell that annoying Weavile. Maybe she might _learn_ something."

Enigma narrowed his eyes as adrenaline boiled up inside his chest. He grit his teeth together, trying to quell the urge to leap across the room at the Zorua. "Was all this just to make her feel guilty?!"  
"No." Harlequin's smirk dropped from his face. "I genuinely don't want to evolve. I can't say my solution wasn't flawed -"  
"Wasn't flawed? It was ridiculous!"  
"I don't want anyone's pity, Enigma!" Harlequin snapped. "And I don't want to be ridiculed either!"  
They stared at each other, Harlequin's breathing heavy and his canines bared. Enigma felt the adrenaline in his chest slowly ebb away as his claws fastened into the bed of hay.

"Would you rather I'd let you bleed to death?"

Harlequin didn't answer, not that he'd expected one. Enigma slipped from his bed and was out of the door in seconds. He could feel Harlequin watching him until he was out of sight.

Enigma realised his claws were digging into his paws. He unclenched them and took a steadying breath as he stopped at Kera's door. The entire situation bothered him. From the moment those two had laid eyes on each other, there'd been conflict. He didn't know what the Zorua's problem was, but he didn't want to be sat in the crossfire.

He just wanted to go for a walk and clear his head.

He placed a paw on her door. "Kera?"  
Silence.

"Are you awake?"

A soft click was followed by the door opening and Kera looked out at him. Her eyes were bright and she gave him a smile.

"I'm awake."

Enigma grinned, but from the quizzical frown on her face she could tell he was faking it.

"I need a walk. Come with me?"  
"Of course." Her ruby eyes were filled with concern. She slipped out of the door and closed it behind her. She was about to speak again when her eyes fell on something behind him. "What's she done to her leg?"  
Enigma looked round to find Harlequin standing in the hallway, his right paw placed gingerly on the ground. His blue eyes were filled with amusement and he gave them a small, mocking grin.

Enigma frowned and turned himself and Kera away. "Nothing you need to worry about. Ignore him."  
Kera looked back again as Enigma steered her away. "But... isn't that Dusclops cloth? You -"

"I found him wounded, that's all you need to know."

"Wounded?" The door to the barracks closed behind them and Kera stopped and span him to face her. "If someone's attacking other Pokemon here, we need to do something about it!"  
"He did it himself!" Enigma sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. Can we just... walk?"  
Kera's eyes widened with surprise and she nodded. She placed a paw on his back and moved him away from the barracks before joining his side.

They walked in silence for a while, Kera clearly worrying about him but not daring to probe any more or voice her concerns. He tried to clear his head, but it wasn't easy. It wasn't just Harlequin's reaction, it was everything. This place bothered him. He _hated_ it. He wanted to get out. And the situation of forbidden loved ones had gone off like a siren in his mind with Harlequin's verbal attack on Kera. That sudden burst of rage he'd felt had taken a lot of self control to not launch himself at the Zorua. Openly revealing his feelings to a Pokemon he wasn't even sure was a friend would have been a foolish action. They could use that information against him.

He couldn't stand it. He just wanted to leave this place.

"I forget how nice the sky is during the day."  
Kera's voice drew him out of the dark shadows of his mind and he followed her gaze to the sky. It was filled with white and grey clouds, dotted here and there by clear blue patches. The sun was hidden from sight and a soft breeze blew cool air through their fur.

"I like days like this," she went on. "I don't like it when the sun's too strong. I prefer colder weather."  
If she was trying to take his mind off things, it was working. He folded his paws behind his back and chuckled.

"That's expected of an ice type."  
She made an audible smile and copied his pose, clasping her claws behind her.

They continued on in silence again and Enigma let himself just enjoy her company. They followed the dirt path over a narrow bridge across the river. It forced them to walk in single file, Kera moving on ahead of him. She looked out at the wide lake to her right, the massive water bed spreading out to fill in the gap between this area of the Shadow Lands and the Border Woods. Formerly filled with Basculin and Carvanha, the lake was almost empty now. The still surface of the water was dotted with slimy lily pads, and long, slender plants rose up in the shallow parts of the lake. Even during the day it looked eerie and abandoned.

Enigma looked away from it and they reached the other side of the river, continuing on side by side again.

"Do you ever think of leaving this place?" he found himself asking.

She looked up at him quickly then glanced around them at the branches of the trees and the roofs of the abandoned, crumbling buildings. No Murkrow were sleeping in this vicinity, but in the distance, Enigma could make out flocks of Murkrow gathered in the branches of the trees near the large, imposing castle, and resting on the stone walls that marked the perimeter of the Shadow Lands.

Kera caught her breath and ran her claws over her feathered ears. "Leaving? I... none of us _dare_..."

"Well I do."  
His words caused her to jump slightly and she gave him a nervous glance. "It's not possible."  
"It's entirely possible." He gave her a quick look and kept his voice low. "I have it planned already, but I don't want to go alone."

"They might hear you," she whispered.

"There's no one here." He looked around at their surroundings to double check, and satisfied, went on. "I have it planned out. We go on a mission, we don't come back. Simple."

" _We_?"

"Yes. I thought about you and me, and maybe Harlequin."  
"Why her?" Kera sneered.

"Because when _he_ first arrived here, he seemed to be as afraid as I was." He paused and folded his paws behind his head. "I know I would have done anything to get away, and if someone offered me that opportunity I would have leapt at it."

Kera stopped walking and leant against the trunk of a large tree. "I don't know..."

"Think about it." Enigma moved over to her. "We wouldn't be tied down to any rules, we wouldn't have to be assassins. We could live normal lives."

She looked up at him and her eyes widened as they met his. He felt his heart skip a beat and he moved closer to her, his mind caught up in the idea of being able to freely express himself. With his gaze locked on hers, he brushed the back of his claws across her cheek and she closed her eyes, seeming to melt under his touch. He was so close to her now he could feel her breath on his face.

She placed her right paw on his chest and he fastened his possessively over hers.

"Run away with me?"

His voice came out as a whisper.

Her breath caught audibly in her throat and she secured a paw around his back, inviting him closer to her. When she opened her eyes and met his, he was suddenly aware of his racing heartbeat. He couldn't deny how he felt. He loved her, and he wanted her to know that. He released her claws and let his paw rest on her waist. The words had almost left his mouth but were stolen away as her lips brushed his.

He was left breathless as she pulled away from him and a smile spread across her face.

She felt the same... he couldn't believe it...

She moved her paw from his chest to his back to pull him towards her. He felt her claws trace up his spine and he closed his eyes briefly as he covered the distance between them.

A sick thud cut through the silence, followed by a loud caw.

The two Pokemon froze and broke apart, looking back at where the sound had come from.

The barracks.

Loud, eerie caws rose into the air, spreading out across the entire Shadow Lands.

The alarm call.

"Someone's failed." Kera's voice was raspy as she tried to catch her breath. She rested her paw on his arm as she stared at the panicked Murkrow. "They've not come back."

She released him and ran back towards the barracks.

Enigma caught up with her and the closer they got to the barracks, the more they could make out.

A flock of Murkrow, several of which were wounded, were gathered around the door. Jex was stood in the doorway, trying to silence the chaos. The thud had come from one of the more exhausted Murkrow as he'd crashed into the ground, spraining his already mangled wing.

The Scrafty caught sight of Enigma and Kera then turned back to the crowd of flailing black feathers and noisy beaks.

"Silence!"

His voice drowned out those of the birds and their frantic caws came to a halt.

"One at a time!" Jex crossed his arms. "What's happened?"

"It's Niana," the one with the mangled wing told him. "She's been killed."  
Jex tried to hide the shock and despair that suddenly flooded him but his eyes gave him away. He turned away for a moment then, after a brief pause, turned back to the Murkrow, several of which had started to caw in a panic again.

"Who did it?" Jex asked, his voice strained.

A movement at Enigma's side caused him to look down. Harlequin had appeared beside him, his ears pricked as he strained to hear the conversation.

"A Braviary," the mangled Murkrow explained. "The rebels she was sent to assassinate have hired a mercenary. He caught her before she even reached the camp."  
Kera's paw shot to her mouth, and her eyes were wide and filled with tears. Enigma placed a paw on her back, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Okay." Jex retreated back through the door. "You Murkrow, get back to your stations and report this to Yurlik. I'll deal with this situation."  
An explosion of black feathers erupted through the air as the Murkrow flock dispersed across the Shadow Lands.

A slam ended the report as the door to the barracks was thrown shut.

"No." Kera shook her head, her crimson eyes filling with tears. "Not Niana."

Enigma turned to look at her. "Kera... I -"

She took off across the grounds.

"Where are you going?" Enigma caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

She span to face him. "I'm going to hunt down that Braviary myself!"  
Enigma's eyes widened. "But he killed Niana. She was more skilled than you."

"The difference here is I can use ice attacks. I can take down that Braviary by exploiting his weakness!"

Enigma let his arms drop to his sides, staring at Kera helplessly. He knew she was fond of Niana. The female Scrafty had cared for all the young trainees, and Kera had developed a soft-spot for her.

 _'She's like a mother Ducklett, but she's much more skilled than I am.'_

He shook his head and looked away from her.

"Can't you wait for instructions?" he asked.

"What? And risk losing track of the mercenary?" Kera snorted. "We know where Niana went. He's probably still nearby. I'm going."

He looked back at her. "Kera -"

"Look. Either help me, or don't. Either way, I'm going."

She turned and bolted towards the borders.

Enigma gave a flustered sigh and followed after her.

"Wait!"

He stopped abruptly and looked back. Harlequin was limping towards him.

"What about me?" the Zorua asked.

Enigma glanced down at Harlequin's wounded leg and fixed his red eyes on the Zorua's. If he wanted to keep up with Kera, he needed to be quick. He turned his back on Harlequin and took off after the Weavile.

...

The Border Woods were silent.

Enigma had never been outside the walls before, but from the news about rebel Pokemon living as outlaws he expected the woods to be bustling with activity.

This was clearly not the case.

He followed Kera through the trees, the Weavile preferring to stick to the branches to give her a clearer view of where she was going. Enigma tried to copy her, warping into the branches and moving from tree to tree, but he had less grace than the agile Weavile. Eventually he resigned himself to moving along the ground, keeping Kera in his sight.

Eventually Kera came to a stop, her feathered ears twitching as she focused on a spot just a few feet away. The leaves in the trees were rustling as though a Pokemon were moving amongst them. The movement stopped suddenly, the leaves moving gently, more naturally, in the wind.

Kera shot from the branches towards the source of that movement.

With his heart beating frantically, Enigma followed after her. The whole endeavour had just become very real.

Kera was through the trees first, and when he caught up with her he found himself in a large clearing. Kera was sticking to the shade of a tree, searching for any sign of what may have been in the branches.

Their answer came when a large, eagle-like Pokemon landed on the ground before them. His grey eyes looked from Kera to Enigma and back and he snorted.

"More assassins?"

Kera's eyes turned livid. She flicked her claws, but before her attack could strike the Braviary, he took to the sky.

Enigma had predicted this. Any sensible Pokemon would dodge, and one with wings would move upwards. He threw a wisp of fire into the air and it struck the Braviary on the side. The smell of smouldering feathers filled the air as the wisp burnt through to the Braviary's flesh.

The large bird Pokemon winced and spiralled down towards Enigma. The ghost warped and the Braviary crashed into the branches of the trees.

Enigma felt a rush of triumph. Maybe they _could_ do this.

He didn't want to harm another Pokemon, but if they just incapacitated him and moved on...

Kera wasn't thinking along the same lines. She ducked and weaved, trying to strike the Braviary with her ice attacks, but he dodged each one with ease, ducking into the wood's canopy.

She changed her tactic by moving into the centre of the clearing, trying to keep the mercenary out in the open.

The Braviary appeared over the tree canopy then arced and swooped towards her, knocking her off her feet. She flinched and rolled onto her stomach, pushing herself up and darting out of the way.

The mercenary's strength had been sapped by the burn. His attacks were doing very little as he tried to avoid full-body contact.

His back was to her now. She took this opportunity to unleash a flurry of ice, peppering the Braviary's wings with frost. The look of satisfaction fell from her face as the bird's wings were covered with a sheet of fire, the ice evaporating into the air. But the Braviary wasn't done.

Enigma's heart lurched into his throat.

"Kera!"

He warped towards her and grabbed her in his arms. In an instant, he'd warped several feet away into the trees. He looked down at his arms.

They were empty.

He span to look back. A sheet of fire spread from the Braviary's wings towards the ground. Kera was engulfed in the flames, her form nothing more than a silhouette amongst a violent, orange screen.

"No..."

He stood up and watched helplessly as the fire ebbed away. Kera's small form crumpled into the ground amongst the ashes.

"No!"

He bolted across the grass and scooped the small Weavile into his arms. Her fur was singed, almost completely burned away. He felt tears sting his eyes and he screwed them shut, clutching her to his chest.

This wasn't it.

It couldn't be over.

The air whipped up around him as the Braviary darted over the trees towards him. He didn't care. He wasn't going to leave her. He braced himself for the impact but it never came. Instead something struck him lightly in his back and bounced away from him. He opened his eyes to see the Braviary spin away from him as a black blur struck its wing, redirecting its attack into the ground.

The Braviary hit the earth with a crunch and fell onto his back. His body went limp and his head flopped to the side, his beak slightly open.

Harlequin turned to look at him and his eyes went straight to the scalded Weavile.

"Is she...?"

Enigma looked away from him, his grip tightening on Kera's motionless body.

He'd wanted to be a hero.

He was no hero. He couldn't even save someone he loved.

The density left his body and he looked down at his claws as they passed through Kera's arm, letting her fall gently to the ground. He stared at his claws then looked over at the Braviary. The large bird's chest rose and fell steadily, but he still didn't move.

Unconscious.

Kera wasn't unconscious.

Enigma felt blind fury flood through his body and his blood boiled. He stood up and moved over to the Braviary, watching the bird's chest rise and fall as though it were mocking him. He placed a paw on his chest, lowering the density from it and letting his claws move effortlessly through the bird's ribcage. His claws found what he was looking for, and the Braviary's eyes shot open as he let out a loud, ear-splitting shriek before falling completely still, his eyes still wide open.

When Enigma removed his claws, they were coated with blood. The realisation of what he'd just done struck him like a landslide.

He fell back from the Braviary and collapsed onto the floor, staring at his claws in horror.

He was no hero.

He was a _monster_.

...

Despite the bandage on his leg, Harlequin had still insisted on digging a hole. Enigma had no plans to go back to the Shadow Lands, and he also had no intention of taking Kera back.

He said he wanted to take her away from there, and he was sticking to that.

They'd found a silent spot away from the clearing, beside a river. Kera was placed in the hole they'd made and Enigma pushed the soil over her, hiding her completely from view. He fell back onto his knees and took in a ragged breath.

It wasn't complete.

He searched the area for something – anything – to mark the spot and his eyes fell on a patch of red flowers. He dug his claws into the soil and pulled them up, then planted them on top of the fresh mound of soil.

Placing them there felt so final.

He'd lost her.

He stood back and rubbed his paws together. Despite having scrubbed them over and over in the flowing river, they still felt dirty. It was as though what he'd done could never be washed away.

A movement in the trees caused him to look up.

Several Murkrow eyes looked back down at him.

He flinched and looked away from them. With those keeping a watchful eye, running away would be impossible. That meant they had to go back.

He stepped around Kera's grave and moved along the riverbed, moving in the opposite direction to the river's current.

Harlequin walked a few paces behind him, either because of his limp or because he thought Enigma needed space. He hugged his arms across his chest and felt his shoulders slump. He couldn't believe it. It had to be a dream.

Just a horrible nightmare.

The walk back to the Shadow Lands was a long one, but when they returned, news had already reached the barracks. The assassins were gathered in the training room but Enigma had no interest in that. He just wanted to be alone.

He moved past the open door, his bell ringing out behind him.

"Enigma."

The Banette stopped and looked back at Jex.

"We're having an urgent meeting. You need to join us."

Enigma faltered, then turned slowly back to Jex and moved into the training hall. He kept himself away from the others, leaning against the wall. Harlequin looked between him and the other assassins before deciding he wanted to stand in the crowd.

"Firstly, I want to thank Enigma and Harlequin for dealing with a mercenary that was deemed too dangerous for even Niana to defeat."

Jex caught Enigma's eye and the Banette looked away from him in disgust. He was seriously being thanked for _that_?

"However, that Braviary has cost us two members to our team in less than twenty four hours," Jex went on. "Both of them being our only two female members. One of them was my sister, and I know this has left many of us feeling sore. There are already rules in place to avoid attachments, but unfortunately it wasn't enough. Now, I am issuing two new rules. No female Pokemon may be assassins. Also, no family members may be recruited together." He paused and looked around at the other Pokemon. Silence had fallen over them, and some of them had hints of sadness in their eyes. "No Pokemon here is allowed to develop an attachment. It can be used against us. It's a _weakness_." Jex turned away from them. "There is no training tonight. You're dismissed."

Enigma slipped from the hall without being seen, making a beeline for his room.

...

The pain that tormented Enigma was like none he'd ever felt before. He pressed the back of his paw against his eyes as he lay on his back, his body racked with violent sobs. The fur on his face and paw was sopping wet, but the tears wouldn't stop coming.

He'd lost Kera.

He'd taken a life.

He'd never see Kera again.

It was _his_ fault. If he'd just stopped her, both of those Pokemon would still be alive. If he'd stopped himself, at least _one_ of them would still be alive.

He was no hero. He was never meant to be a hero.

He was a monster. All he did was destroy things.

It was because of him his parents were killed.

It was because of him Kera had died.

It was because of him that the Braviary had died.

He could still smell the blood on his paw and it made him feel sick. Whenever those images flashed back through his mind, it was as though he was an onlooker watching a crazed Banette murder another Pokemon, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Now... he was alone.

A deep moan escaped his body and he clasped his paw over his face. He'd never got the chance to tell her how he felt, and now he never would.

And they'd never escape together. They'd never be together.

What would she have thought if she knew what he'd done?

His body racked with sobs again and he barely heard the door open. A warm body climbed onto the bed next to him and flopped across his chest.

A musty smell filled his senses and he removed his paw from his eyes, opening them long enough to see Harlequin's shaggy body lying over him like a blanket.

Even after everything he'd said and done, after all Harlequin had seen, he still wanted to comfort him?

Enigma felt his sobbing calm and he wrapped his arms around Harlequin. He buried his face into his neck and let his tears soak through the Zorua's fur.

He might not be alone, but he was definitely no hero.

...

 **Please R &R! =D**


	4. Poison

**A/N - Here's Harlequin's story! I'm sorry it's late =(**

 **This is a parallel to Enigma's story, so a lot of it is basically a retelling from Harlequin's point of view. If you want to know what was going on in her head, give it a read.**

 **If you're up to date with The End, you'll already know Harlequin's history has reference to domestic violence. I've marked that section off in here with (!) at the beginning and end for those who want to leap over it.**

 **Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its critters!**

Poison

"Ah-ah-ah!" The Zangoose placed her paw over the Nidoking horn and wagged a claw back and forth at Harlequin. "Not until I say you're ready."  
There was almost a sing-song air to her tone, and she tucked the horn away beneath the blanket, alongside other poisons.

"But... but you said I'd be ready today!" Harlequin whined.

The Zangoose looked at her. "I said no such thing." She closed her eyes and looked away from the Zorua. "I said you were close, and that you _might_ graduate today."

Harlequin clenched her teeth together and seethed silently, keeping her blue eyes on the spot where the Zangoose – Alia – had hidden the horn.

"You got one wrong," Alia went on, putting away the various vials containing colourful yet dangerous poisons on her shelf. "The leaves of the pecha bush when placed on a wound infected with Seviper venom can not counter the problem alone. At least not well. It might work to draw out milder venoms from bug Pokemon such as a Beedril, but Seviper is more potent." She turned to look back at the Zorua. "Eating the berries would work better than the leaves alone, and even that's not sufficient enough. You should know that by now."

"It was a simple mistake," said Harlequin. "Believe me. I'm ready."

Alia smiled at her over her shoulder. "You are not ready, Harlequin. A simple mistake like that could lead to someone's death. Or even your own."

"Okay, and now I know! I'm ready!"  
"You're ready?" Alia wiped her paws on her apron. "How do you extract venom from a sleeping Ekans?"  
"You place the corked vial over its fang and press it gently."

"Wrong! You never extract venom from a sleeping Ekans! If they feel someone poking around their mouth while they're asleep, they'd panic and bite!"

Harlequin's jaw dropped and she stared at the Zangoose wordlessly.

Alia shook her head and turned back to her shelf. "See? Not ready."

"That was a trick question!"

"Yes. It was. The procedure was right – with permission." Alia looked back at her again. "You should have noticed that."

Harlequin growled and looked away from her.

"Why are you so quick to graduate? This is a delicate matter. One small mistake-"

"Can be fatal. I know."

"Then what's the rush?"

Harlequin closed her eyes and bared her canines. What was the rush? That Zangoose wouldn't understand. She'd seemed hesitant enough to take her on, but the idea of a Zorua learning poisons had struck a chord with her; a hidden chord but Harlequin had spotted it. She knew she wanted to leave this place, and that trick question seemed like an abstract way of deliberately delaying her 'graduating' from her apprenticeship. The only reason she was even asking for poison training was because of _him_. The vile creature who called himself her father.

"I..." She gave a small sigh. "I just need this."  
Alia turned to her fully and wiped her paws on her apron again. It seemed to be a habit which Harlequin had grown used to seeing. Poisons couldn't harm her, and the vials didn't even leak.

"I have a friend," Harlequin explained. "We don't plan to stay around this area much longer. We want to move on, and the more I'm delayed-"

"You're leaving the borders." Alia spoke matter-of-factly and looked away from her, the bottom of her apron wrapped around one paw as the other fondled it absently. "Well..." She shook her head and let out a flustered breath. "It's against my principles, Harlequin. I can't just let you leave unprepared."

"I feel like I'll _never_ be prepared!"  
"Then you never will be." Alia fixed her red eyes on hers, her mouth pulled into a frown. "Not with that attitude."  
Harlequin growled and stood up, turning her back on the Zangoose. Her eyes went to the blanket, the Nidoking horn hidden out of view, but the little bump in the cloth showed its exact location.

A potent poison with one specific anti-venom. One that was as rare as the horn itself. Only the opposite could counter it, and that came from the Nidoqueen. Alia had a small vial of it on her shelf, and she would give it to Harlequin when she gave her the horn.

With that horn, she could be sure her target would die. Any other poison would be pointless. He'd simply find the cure, or eat pecha berries, and then come after her.

She grimaced and the fur along her back stood on end.

"Harlequin? Are you all right?"

If she went home now, he'd only beat her senseless. Just like he always did. He hadn't wanted a girl. And he hadn't wanted a _freak_ either.

A little Zorua with blue highlights and shocking blue eyes. Even rarer than hatching a female in the first place.

Her tail hung down limply behind her. She threw her bag over her back and slumped her way out of her tree-house, then made her way across the swamp, keeping her balance along the fallen tree. Its branches scraped at her fur, but she ignored it. How was she going to explain this to Harbinger? He didn't want to wait around much longer, and she'd delayed him long enough.

The sound of wingbeats in the trees reached her ears as the ever-watchful Murkrow switched places above her.

Dawn. It was already Dawn. The sun poked its way into the sky, streaking it with a dull orange.

Silently she made her way back to her home and when she reached the hollowed tree, she stared at it, her heart sinking. He might not even be home. He rarely came back while she was still awake, which meant she could sometimes go a day without even seeing him.

She swallowed drily and poked her head into the opening. The ground moved down below her and she followed it to the little den below the ground.

The slender figure of a female Zoroark came into view, gathering dried meats together on a little mat. As she looked up at her, her eyes became fearful and she looked back over her shoulder.

 **(!)**

"She's home!?"

The voice sent shivers down Harlequin's spine and she backed away as her mother's eyes locked back onto her.

A large Zoroark stomped around the corner, shoving her mother aside and before Harlequin could run, his claws dug into her ruff and dragged her backwards into the room.

"No! Let me go!"  
He laughed and Harlequin's body went cold, her fur standing on end.

"No! I think yer out enough, don't you?"

Harlequin looked over at her mother, but as usual she said nothing, mindlessly going back to sorting out that night's dinner.

"I think you should make yerself useful fer a change!" He threw Harlequin back into the room and she skidded across the floor until her back struck the leg of a stool, knocking it over with a loud clatter. "There are only two things females are good fer! And prancing around outside at night ain't one of 'em!"

Harlequin's heart struck her throat as a large grin spread across the Zoroark's face. She pulled herself up and raced for the door, but he leapt in front of her and blocked her exit. Hopping to one side, she threw his attention as he went to grab her then took this opportunity to dart between his legs in a desperate bid for freedom. Pain jolted along her spine as he grabbed her tail in his claws and dragged her back into the room. A scream escaped her mouth as she dug her claws into the dirt.

"Oh no, I don't think so. You ain't goin' nowhere!"

 **(!)**

...

Night fell on the Border Woods, and Harlequin's paws kicked up debris from the floor as she ran, gasping for breath, her face wet with tears. Harbinger had her message. They'd be leaving that dawn... provided she could get this done.

No. She _had_ to get this done.

She'd had enough. She had to do _something_.

The swamp came into view beyond a spread of thorny bushes, ever silent as its inhabitants didn't like to be awake during the day. Below the swampy surface lived a small family of Croagunk and Toxicroak, and the low hum of Beedril could no longer be heard over the gurgle of the distant river. The little tree-house was barely visible in the low light.

Harlequin placed a paw on the fallen tree. If she was going to do this, she had to do it right. She swallowed drily and pushed herself forwards, her body tingling as her illusion engulfed her. If she took on the form of a Weavile, there was no way Alia would confront her.

If she was even awake.

Her bag brushed against her side, and the small noise sounded deceptively loud. She was soon across the bridge and looking up at the little house. A narrow flight of stairs led up to the door, and she knew at least two of those steps creaked ominously, the wood rotting away from its contact with the damp air.

She placed her paw warily on the bottom step. Nothing. With a small sigh of relief, she crept up them. The third one creaked loudly, cutting through the air like an alarm. She froze and stared at the front door for what felt like an eternity.

Should she go back? Just give up and go back? Abandon her plan entirely and run?

He'd track her down. He'd report her missing, and there'd be Murkrow and other members of the Darkness looking for her. Whether or not they'd spare his life was another question entirely, but the problem lay in what the Darkness would do with her, especially if they knew she was dabbling in poisons. Hydreigon hated poison Pokemon. The little group of Pokemon here were hidden away. It was a risk for Alia to even let her step foot beyond those thorns.

She gulped and pushed herself further up the steps. Another creak froze her right before the door. Still, the Zangoose didn't show herself.

Had she heard? Was she hiding?

Harlequin reached into her bag and pulled out a long, thin iron thorn. Alia bolted the door on the other side, but she'd shown Harlequin how to open two different types of locks while trying to pass time. When Harlequin had asked why she knew such methods, the Zangoose had just told her it was an interest of hers.

Harlequin knew better. Alia was planning something, just like she was. But the Zangoose's target was likely Hydreigon himself. However, she couldn't do it. On the other side of those walls, she'd be like a Caterpie amongst a flock of Pidgeot. That was why she'd accepted Harlequin's request to be trained. She wanted to use her illusion to send her into the Shadow Lands and assassinate one of the most dangerous Pokemon to ever exist.

Harlequin had no such intention.

 _Chunk!_

There. It was open.

She stuffed the iron thorn back in her bag, pushed the door ajar and crept across the room to the long table, still covered with that heavy sheet. She could see the tell-tale bump where the Nidoking horn lay amongst other horns, fangs and stingers.

She lifted the sheet and her eyes fell on the long, purple horn mounted in its wooden handle. She wrapped her jaws around the wood and a low gasp caused her body to freeze. She looked over into the corner where the shadow of Alia stood watching her.

What the Zangoose would have seen was a Weavile holding the Nidoking horn in its wicked claw. Alia's red eyes kept going from the horn to the Weavile illusion and back as she stepped backwards until her back was pressed up against the wall.

It had worked.

Harlequin turned and fled down the steps, the long horn clasped firmly in her jaws.

"Wait!"

Alia's voice cut through the air, and Harlequin picked up her pace, her paws flying across the fallen tree.

"Harlequin!"  
Harlequin cursed under her breath. She knew. She knew because she'd fled. A Weavile would have attacked her, and he wouldn't have just left with the horn either. She ventured a glance back over her shoulder, but the Zangoose was stood in her doorway, watching the fleeing form of a Weavile. The tree's branches snatched her fur and she winced, the illusion falling away from her like water over a rock. Alia shook her head sadly and closed the door.

Harlequin grimaced and turned her attention back to her plan.

Horn. Poison. Father.

That was all she'd wanted from this training. A way to remove her problem for good, then run.

A low caw echoed through the branches, the only sign of life in the woods. Every other Pokemon was asleep or hiding. Dark Pokemon were usually nocturnal, but so was the Darkness. Her parents, like many others, wanted to hide during the night, and so they slept underground.

She reached her home and paused in the doorway, her wide, frantic eyes searching the shadows of the room. She sniffed a couple of times, trying to pick up any clue her father was still awake.

Nothing.

With a dry gulp, she crept into the den. Her eyes flicked left and right at every shadow, but there was nothing. A soft snore came from the tunnel at the back of the room. She gave a small sigh of relief and turned her attention to the bucket beside the pile of fruit and meats.

Every morning, he wanted a drink. It was his routine, and it was like clockwork. The sun would rise, and he'd wake up, go over to the bucket and have a drink. If there was no water in it, it was her fault.

Her blood ran cold and she snarled. A rather loud sound in such a quiet den. Her eyes shot to the tunnel, so wide she thought they might roll out of her head.

Another snore.

She turned back to the bucket and stuck the horn inside it, swirling it around slowly. A fine trail of pink appeared on the surface wherever the horn touched, and it melted away into the water.

There. It was done.

She backed out of the room and fled back to the door.

Dawn. She still had a long time until dawn, but she couldn't wait around here. She had to rush back to Harbinger, then they would hide until the Murkrow finally went to sleep.

She ran, her legs pumping over the ground, the horn still clasped in her jaws. She paused only to stuff it into her bag. She didn't want to accidentally nick him with it, especially since she had no anti-venom for it. She reached the little thicket where she'd hidden Harbinger and skidded to a halt.

Something was wrong. What was it?

She moved over to the bush, and something caught her eye, glinting in the moonlight. Hanging from the branches, the strange black and white sphere he'd been wearing round his neck. The thicket itself was empty. She grabbed the stone in her teeth and looked around for her friend, but he was nowhere to be seen.

The ground... it was dotted with black feathers and claw marks. A struggle. And it smelled strongly of Harbinger.

She placed the stone in her bag and raced along the tracks, following his trail, but above her she could hear the heavy wingbeats of a large bird Pokemon. She craned her neck to look up into the canopy, but before mind could register the Pokemon's identity, it was on her, its claws pushing her into the ground.

"Let me go!" she screamed.

The Murkrow in the canopy cawed loudly, and the heavy Pokemon lowered his beak to her face, revealing the face of a large Honchkrow.

Yurlik. General of Hydreigon's Murkrow army.

His beak split into a wicked grin.

"Well, well, well," he crooned. "A little Zorua with a taste for poisons."  
"I am no risk to you!" Harlequin struggled under his grip. "I... I just had one target. One. It doesn't effect you, or the Shadow Lands."  
"Or Lord Hydreigon?" Yurlik inclined his head on one side.

Harlequin stared up at him, gasping for breath. Her bag was pressed into the ground beneath her. She couldn't poison this Honchkrow if she tried.

"We've been watching you," Yurlik told her. "Running back and forth from the poison princess." He spat the words at her and she flinched back from him. "Not to mention playing with a filthy Absol. But the latter's been dealt with."

"What?" Harlequin's blue eyes snapped open, but it wasn't fury she fired at him. It was fear. Pain.

He laughed, and the Murkrow above him did the same, their gritty voices spreading throughout the canopy. Harlequin blinked back tears from her eyes and strained under his grip.

"Listen, little Zorua." Yurlik gathered himself and adjusted his talons, pinning her to the ground by the neck. "That Absol is dead. He's been chased down and killed. As for you..."

Her heart was heavy, and she bit back a sob. She wasn't going to cry. Not in front of this abhorrent creature.

"Hmm... I think Lord Hydreigon could find use for you." Yurlik clicked his beak in thought. "Yes. A little assassin trained in poisons with the ability to disguise himself as any Pokemon in existence. That sounds like a nice little deal." He fastened his claws around her body and flapped his wings, rising into the air. "It's either that, or death. You choose." He rose higher and higher until the canopy spread out below her. "I think it's safe to say you'd die if dropped from this height. Don't you?"

Harlequin hung limply in his claws and let out a low groan.

Yurlik laughed and swerved in the air, and she watched the trees pass by below her. Two tears fell towards the canopy, glinting in the dim light of the moon, and she closed her eyes in defeat, finally letting out that sob.

...

Harlequin skidded across the dry earth, and Yurlik landed above her, striking her back down with his beak when she tried to stand. She slumped back to the ground with a grunt.

"Don't even think of getting up," the Honchkrow growled. "Oi! You!"

"Me?"

A Weavile moved over to them, rubbing a paw across his eyes.

"Yes. Keep an eye on this Zorua, will you? I need to speak with Lord Hydriegon."  
The Weavile mumbled under his breath and gave a long sigh.

"You do know I've got other duties to do, right?"

Yurlik clicked his beak and frowned at the Weavile. The slender Pokemon raised his claws and took a step back from him.

"Fine, fine. I'll watch the little pup for you."  
Yurlik strode over her back and she watched him as he made his way towards the stone steps of the large castle.

Leaving her with a Weavile... it was common sense. If he took her in that castle, who's to say she wouldn't take the opportunity to strike down that foul dragon? However... it was only one Weavile. She could easily give him the slip.

She pushed herself to her feet and leered at the other Pokemon. He leered back at her and flexed his claws. Something moved to her left... then her right. She looked round and her heart sank. Sniffing the air and moving cautiously around her were a pack of Deino, their noses raised and pointed in her direction, moving and following the wind when it blew over her. Their bodies were scarred, and some had fresh wounds tricking blood down their bodies, likely from scrapping amongst themselves over nothing.

Blind... but fierce. If she ran and they gave chase and caught her, she'd be torn to shreds.

It was no use... she couldn't go anywhere. She was trapped.

"I hope he ain't long," said the Weavile. "Cos I don't plan on watchin' you all night." He yawned widely and leant back against a dirty stone wall.

Harlequin frowned. "Then why don't you go and do your 'other duties'?"

The Weavile snorted. "I ain't got much choice. He told me to watch you, didn't he?" He grunted. "Meant to be watching the castle though."

"Why do _you_ need to watch it?" She nodded to the Deino. "There's plenty of dragons to do that."

He snorted and a smirk spread over his face. "What?! You think this lot are good enough to keep an eye open?" He looked over at the Deino and laughed.

"Hey!" one of them barked. "Come over here and say that!" He turned and faced the complete opposite direction and gnashed his teeth.

The others span, snarling and lunging at thin air until one crashed into another and the whole lot broke into a massive scrap. The handful of Murkrow perched in the surrounding trees and rooftops took into the air in flurry of feathers and caws.

The Weavile motioned for Harlequin to follow him and they moved past the pack of Deino towards the castle. Now a safe distance away from the scrapping dragons, the Weavile leant back against the wall and folded his arms.

"What brings you here anyway? Yurlik snatch you from yer mother's breast?"  
"Not quite." Harlequin looked away from him and stared out at the Border Woods in the distance.

By now, her father and her mother would both have drank of that toxic water. They'd both be dead. She hadn't wanted it this way... she'd wanted to spare her mother... but it had been the easiest option.

She grimaced and looked away, closing her eyes. The sounds of fighting and snarling interspersed with incomprehensible shouts filled her ears and a blazing fury mixed with fear and anxiety flowed through her veins and flipped her stomach upside down.

She wanted to get out... but she was trapped.

"You even listenin'?"

She took a few steadying breaths and looked over at the Weavile. He had one eyebrow raised. His arms were still crossed, but the claws of his right paw tapped irritably on his left arm. She looked away from him and flashed her canines in a snarl.

"You ain't are ya?" The Weavile snorted and glanced away. "Typical. New recruits ain't got no respect."

Harlequin growled and the hair along her back stood on end. "I am _not_ a _recruit_."

The Weavile clicked his tongue. "I wouldn't go spoutin' that around if I were you, hatchling. Ye'll get yer guts plucked clean from yer body."  
Her fur bristled even more. "I'm not a hatchling!"

One of the Deino turned his nose towards her. The fight was coming to an end, and he broke away from the remaining scrapping dragons and moved over to her, sniffing noisily. She backed away from his round snout, but he kept moving forwards until she was pushed onto her back. Her heart was racing. What was this stupid dragon doing?

"I don't smell hatchlings," he grumbled. "Smells like poison."

His large foot struck her in her stomach and she yelped. She sprang back up like a dart and dug her canines into his face. The Deino let out an ear-splitting howl and jerked his head away, the flesh tearing in her jaws. He skittered backwards, but the rest of the pack rushed at her, some of them veering off in the wrong direction, snapping their jaws and barking maniacally. The ones that found her knocked her over with their heads and trampled her under their heavy feet as she tried to flee to safety.

Strong claws grabbed her by the rear leg and yanked her away from them. She rounded on the Weavile and he leapt back from her jaws. He raised his claws and took a step back, rising slightly above her.

They were now on the stairs to the castle. The Deino were still rushing around below her, crashing into each other and shaking the stairs as their bodies bumped into the frame. Her body ached now and she scanned her eyes over herself for any sign of injury, but there didn't appear to be any.

"Gotta be more careful," the Weavile told her. "They might be idiots but they're higher rank than us. Ye get yeself into a scrape with those lot, yer gonna get yeself killed."

Harlequin snorted and looked away.

The door behind them flew open and she jumped, bounding back down the stairs and narrowly avoiding a Deino.

"Enough!" Yurlik boomed.

The Deino skidded to a halt and looked back at him... well, most of them looked the other way, or up at the sky, but Yurlik just tutted and moved over to Harlequin.

"You are being taken to the barracks." He grabbed at Harlequin but she leapt back, landing with her back arched and her fur on end. "Don't play games with me, wretch! Or you'll meet the same fate as your puny Absol friend! Or that Zangoose you pal around with."

Her jaw dropped and the fur along her back levelled out as she stared gobsmacked at the Honchkrow.

"What? You didn't know?" He laughed. "Do you really think we'd leave poison Pokemon living in the Border Woods? You're lucky he doesn't want _you_ dead."

Harlequin shook her head, pacing backwards from him. Alia... the Croagunk... Beedril... they were all dead? In less than one night, a group of Pokemon had been found and wiped out?

Her rear bumped into one of the Deino and he spun, digging his teeth into her tail. She yelped and span to confront him, but before she could return his bite with one of her own, Yurlik's talons wrapped around her waist and lifted her into the air.

He didn't fly her far. She was thrown down beside a filthy, low building dotted with open windows. A smell of damp and mold rose from it and her nose crinkled with disgust.

"Jex!" Yurlik roared. "Jex, get out here!"

Almost immediately the door opened and the face of a Scrafty leered out at him.

"What is it?"

"This?" Yurlik nodded down at the Zorua. "He uses poisons. Lord Hydreigon wants him trained in the barracks."

Harlequin bristled. So this fat bird thought she was a boy? She let out a snort. She had no desire to correct him. Let him think what he wanted. She didn't plan to be here long anyway.

The Scrafty stared at her for a while before finally saying, "All right."

"Good." Yurlik waved a wing in dismissal and turned away from him. "I'll leave the pup with you."

"Pup?" She frowned. So he thought she was a boy _and_ a child?

"Huh." The Scrafty scratched the long tufts on his head. "How old are you, kid?"

"I'm not a kid." She looked round at him, her canines bared. "I'm seven seasons old."

"Not quite an adult then."

She let out a long sigh and looked away from him again.

"The names Jex. You'll be joining my assassin training regime here. What do we call you?"

"Harlequin."

"All right then, Harlequin. Come with me."  
She watched him head back inside and when he realised she wasn't following him, he looked back at her.

"Or you can stay out there for the Deino to finish you off? It looks like they made a good start."

Mumbling under her breath she rose to her feet and trudged after him.

"If poison's your speciality," he said with a glance over his shoulder, "you might be adding a bit of variety to our training sessions."

She kept her head low and her ears back, following the Scrafty down the narrow corridor. He finally stopped by a door and opened it. Harlequin didn't budge so he gave her a nudge inside.

She took in the room and her heart sank. It was just as dirty and damp smelling as the rest of the building, and it's only comforts, if they could even be called that, were a low stone bed covered with hay and a door that closed.

"Look," said Jex. "I can understand you're scared, but you're here now."

' _Yes_ ,' Harlequin thought. ' _I'm here... here of all places._ '

"I'll send someone in more your age."

Her heart hit her stomach. More evil Pokemon?

"Maybe you'll be willing to talk to them and they can show you around." The door closed with a click and she could hear him moving away down the corridor.

It sounded so final, that click. Harbinger was gone, her friend Alia had been killed because she'd breached her rules, going into the swamp at night. She'd been followed, and the whole swamp were wiped out. All because she'd wanted to kill her father. If she'd just gone with Harbinger when he wanted to leave, none of this would have happened.

They'd have escaped. They'd be free. They'd be happy.

Now she was stuck here. She couldn't even use her illusion to escape. The Deino had her scent. They'd just track her down with their noses.

She shrugged off her bag and shoved it aside. She didn't even want to look at it right now. The horn inside it was the sole purpose all this had happened. She'd been foolish. Incredibly foolish. She slumped to the floor, curling her tail around her as sobs shook her body. Small... she felt so small...

A soft ring cut through the silence and her ears twitched. She looked up sharply, searching the room for the source of the sound.

"Who's there?"

A shadowy form materialised on the bed, taking on the unmistakable shape of a Banette. He wore a heavy, black scarf and he gave her a boyish grin as he leant back against the wall, folding his paws behind his head. Even the slightest movement caused an unseen bell to jingle. His heavily ringed eyes traced Harlequin's body and she curled up even smaller, not taking her eyes off him.

He let out a chuckle and shook his head, giving a small sigh.

"Well, isn't this interesting? Dark Pokemon aren't usually afraid of me."

Harlequin shifted and glanced away from him. No... there was a type advantage. A few swift bites from her, and he'd probably be history. Now she looked like a coward.

She shot him a glance out of the corner of her eye. "I...didn't see you."

"You've got nothing to be afraid of," the Banette told her. "After all the training I've endured today, if you were to fire a dark pulse at me right now you'd probably put me in a coma."

He laughed madly, doubling over slightly with a paw on his stomach. Harlequin stared at him. Was this Banette even _sane_? He opened his eyes again to look at her and his laughs came to a stop. He cleared his throat and leant back against the wall again, folding his arms behind his head.

"So why are you here?" he asked. "From your attitude I assume you've not joined willingly."

She shifted and glanced at him, before turning her attention back to her satchel.

"I was kidnapped," she said flatly.

"Hmm." The Banette stared at her and she shrank under his gaze. Did he even believe her? How many Pokemon here were kidnapped from the Border Woods, if any at all? She glanced at him again. He didn't look that old. Maybe he was one of them?

"What about you?" she asked. "You don't look much older than I am."  
He shrugged. "How old are you?"

"Seven seasons."

He snorted a laugh. "Yeh, I'm older."  
Her heart sank slightly. "Really?"  
She would have looked at him, but something in her satchel caught her eye. That little round stone... she grabbed it in her teeth and pulled it free and a pang rang in her chest. She had almost forgotten about it. Well... she'd be certain that wouldn't happen again. She fumbled with the ends of the cord, trying to tie them together.

"Yeh," said the Banette. "Add a year on that, kid." He paused, and she could feel his eyes on her.

Kid? She closed her eyes briefly and returned to fumbling with those cords.

"What am I supposed to call you then?" he asked. "I'm guessing you have a name."

"Harlequin."

"Too long. I'm calling you Harle."

He vanished from the bed and appeared next to her, snatching the stone from her paws. Her jaw dropped and she yelled, snatching back at it, but he leapt back onto the bed out of her reach. Her fur stood on end and she leapt to her feet.

"Give that back!"

The Banette ignored her, turning the stone round in his paws before letting it dangle limply on its cords. She wasn't going to stand for this. She'd lost Harbinger, and she wasn't going to lose the one thing she had left of him. Not to anyone, not even this boyish prankster.

She opened her mouth and fired a dark pulse from her throat. The stream of dark purple and black shadow flew across the room and struck the wall beside the Banette's head. His eyes shot wide open and he looked from the smoking patch on the wall to Harlequin. She pulled her lips back in a snarl.

"That was just a warning shot. Give. It. Back."

The Banette sighed and quickly knotted the strings together before tossing it back to her.

"I was only tying it for you. No need to get so aggressive."

Harlequin stared down at it. Knotting it? It hadn't seemed that way. He'd been much too interested. She quickly snatched it up in her jaws and looped it around her neck. She grit her teeth together. Maybe she'd overreacted.

"Thank you."

She didn't know if he'd heard her. She'd mumbled it rather quickly, and her energy seemed to be failing her. She slumped back to the floor as her body began to ache again. Those stupid Deino had battered her more than she'd realised.

"You seem tired," said the Banette. "I guess I should probably let you get some rest?"

Harlequin shrugged.

The Banette slipped off the bed and strode over to the door, his strange bell jingling with every movement. What did he want with her? Was this the Pokemon Jex had sent in to talk to her? Whatever the case, she became very aware he'd not even introduced himself. She strained her head up to look at him over her shoulder.

"You've not told me your name."

He glanced back at her and gave her a small smile.

"It's Enigma. I'll be back later."

He slipped through the door without even opening it.

Back later...

She chuckled and let her head rest on her paws. This was interesting. A ghost Pokemon working for the Darkness... It was a strange concept. She thought they'd all been wiped out years ago.

Maybe she wasn't the only one who'd been kidnapped?

...

Harlequin couldn't sleep. That became apparent when daylight began to flood through the window, making the process even more impossible. She curled up tighter, lying with her eyes wide open as she stared over her tail at the door.

Every noise that had come through the walls or echoed in the corridor had set her on edge, and she couldn't stand it. She'd lay hiding in her room, almost willing Enigma to come back inside and keep her company, but it didn't happen. Now that the sun had risen, there'd be fewer Pokemon lurking around, making it safer to go and find him.

Why she wanted to find him, she didn't know. He was still an assassin training here, but there was something warm about him. Something that told her he was an ally, not an enemy.

She pushed herself to her feet and made for the door, scrambling at the handle to pull it open. The corridor revealed itself before her. She looked up and down it and groaned under her breath. It seemed even longer than she remembered it. And why did it have so many doors? Which one was his?

She grit her teeth and backed into the room. If she needed to find him, she'd have to use her nose. She looked back at the bed and growled. So she had to actually go _near_ it. With a sigh, she dragged herself towards it and lowered her nose to the hay... and sneezed. It stunk of must and mold. She shook her head sharply and tried again, not venturing to go quite so close this time.

There it was. Just faintly something that resembled spicy berries. If she followed that...

She turned her nose to the air and made her way back out of the room. Despite being a ghost, he'd left his trail. Maybe he didn't vanish and reappear as much as she assumed he might. Maybe he'd just been showing off when he entered her room, or being cautious.

She paused at the room next to hers. That smell was strongest here. She stared at the door and gulped. If she opened it and it wasn't his room she might find herself face to face with a very cross and sleepy Pokemon.

Reaching up, her claws brushed the wood as she fumbled for the handle. It dipped and the door swung inward.

Enigma was propped up on his bed and fixed her with a questioning stare. It wasn't quite as welcoming as she'd hoped.

She glanced away from him. "I... can't sleep."

There was a rustle of hay as Enigma flopped back onto his bed. "Join the club."

"I guessed you'd still be awake," she explained. "I can tell you have sleeping trouble with the dark patches under your eyes."

She closed the door and sat down beside it. He looked over at her and she shifted under his gaze, fidgeting her paws together.

"How did you find me?" he asked. "I never told you my room."

She shrugged. "Smell."

Enigma sighed and rolled onto his back, lying with an arm across his eyes.

"What do you want?"

"I..." Harlequin faltered. "You're the only Pokemon I've... spoken to here. I wanted to apologise for threatening you... and... well, I don't really know what to do..."

He chuckled and sat up, propping his back against the wall. He flashed her a grin.

"To be honest, there's not much to do here."

She frowned. "Well, what do _you_ do?"  
"Train." Enigma closed his eyes and crossed his paws behind his head. "Go for walks. Hang out with Kera."

She raised an eyebrow. "Kera?"  
He fixed one eye on her. "She's a friend of mine. You'll meet her later."

"Hnn..." Harlequin looked away from him. So she was a girl? "I guess she's asleep?"

"Yeh, she's not exactly diurnal."

She yawned. Diurnal... that was something she'd grown out of with her nightly poison training and trying to avoid her father. Fatigue washed over her, but her brain still didn't want to switch off.

"I should probably try to get some sleep," she said. "They'll want me in the morning, won't they?"

Enigma shrugged. "If you want to sleep, sleep. Just close the door behind you."

Harlequin stared at the door and a cold fear washed over her. She shifted her weight from foot to foot and glanced back around the room.

"What's the problem?" Enigma asked. "Forgot where your room is?"

There was an air of sarcasm behind his voice that she really didn't appreciate. She shook her head at it and looked back at him.

"I'm... in a strange place. I don't really..." Her voice trailed off and she looked back at the door. Strange place... that was one way to word it.

Enigma fidgeted with the hem of his scarf. "We can take a walk if you like?"  
"A walk?"

"It'll get you familiar with the place."  
Harlequin looked from the Banette to the door and back. A walk? Out there in the Shadow Lands? She could feel her eyes widening at the thought. Enigma chuckled and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, fixing her with a wide smile that instantly made her feel more at ease.

"It might also tire you out," he said. "Then you'll sleep."

He was offering to go _with her_?! It certainly made it seem more appealing, but... _with her_? Her heart lurched and she pushed herself backwards, but her back legs wouldn't obey.

"I... I... I..."

She fell onto her haunches, moving backwards until her toes were the only part of her forepaws left touching the floor.

Enigma laughed and strolled over to the door, and his paw fell onto her shoulder. It was like electricity jolted through her. Her body bristled and she let out a loud bark, her teeth snapping at his paw. He span away from her and she bolted across the room, standing with her back arched and her fur on end. Her heart was hammering in her chest. What on earth was that?! Her lips pulled back from her canines and she growled.

Enigma clutched at his paw as he stared back at her, his eyes wide with alarm. She'd barely skimmed it. He'd managed to snatch it away before her teeth locked over it. Nevertheless, he shook his head in disbelief and looked away from her, fondling his paw absently.

"Are you coming?" He didn't look back at her when he spoke.

Wounded. He looked so wounded. She gave a low whine and closed her eyes. What had she done?

"I'm sorry..." she gasped out. Her heart was still racing. "Just... don't touch me."

He chuckled and ran a paw over his face. "Noted."

She grimaced again. Everything was just too fresh. She didn't want to be touched or grabbed or poked at, and now she'd likely risked the one friendship she could expect to make in this awful place.

"I... I should leave you now." She moved over to the door, not even wanting to look at him. "I'm sorry, I've... not had a good day."

"Hey."

She froze and glanced back at him, keeping her head low.

"Wait here," he said. "I'll go and get us some snacks."

Snacks? He still wanted her around after _that_?

He slipped past her into the corridor then looked back at her with a smile, but she moved back from him. She didn't want to risk contact with him again. What on earth _was_ that electricity?

"What do you like?" he asked.

Harlequin glanced away and licked her lips. She _was_ hungry. She wasn't even sure if the berries in her bag were safe any more. She'd just stuffed that horn in there without thinking about it.

"I prefer meat to berries," she said.  
"All right. Wait here."

Enigma closed the door behind him and Harlequin fell to her stomach, letting her legs splay out at her sides. That electricity... It had been nice and awful at the same time, as though her body and her mind weren't agreeing with one another. She grimaced and looked away from the door. It was pretty obvious what it was, and she didn't want it.

...

Enigma had brought back a large variety of meats and berries, and Harlequin had tucked into them with relish. Despite being in a strange place, she was hungry, and she needed her strength if she was going to survive and find a way out.

The pair of them had nattered in fractured bursts. She didn't really want to relive her past, and she didn't want to burden Enigma with it either. She'd not even told Harbinger about her father, and Alia had no clue why she wanted to learn poisons.

Enigma's reaction to Harbinger being an Absol had upset her, but he'd quickly covered that back up. It wasn't _his_ fault Harbinger had been killed and Harlequin knew full well other Pokemon didn't like Absol for fear they brought disasters.

After that, her tiredness caught up with her and she'd fallen asleep. The sun was setting by the time she woke up and she yawned widely, stretching herself out on the floor. The room of the barracks came into view, followed by that awful musty smell.

"Good sleep?"

Enigma's voice somewhat alleviated the awfulness. She looked over at him. "I've had better."

The door opened and both of their eyes snapped to it. A Weavile strode into the room with an air of confidence and gave Enigma a large grin before her eyes found Harlequin.

"Oh, you're awake?" Enigma chuckled and nodded to Harlequin. "Kera, this is-"

His voice trailed off and he watched the two Pokemon warily. The glare the Weavile was giving her sent shivers through her body. The fur along her back bristled and her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Well." Enigma stood up. "It looks like you two are going to be _great_ friends."

Kera's claws fastened firmly around his paw but she didn't take her eyes off Harlequin.

"Enigma? A moment?"  
Enigma stumbled under the momentum as Kera dragged him from the room, closing the door behind her.

Harlequin strained her ears to hear what was going on. She could only catch bursts of the conversation, but it was enough for her to put two and two together.

" _Him_?" Kera's shrill voice resounded through the wall. "Sure. _He_ can hang around with us."

Harlequin shook her head and chuckled drily to herself. _Interesting_. Enigma thought she was male... while Kera jumped straight to conclusions.

Jealousy... that's what that glare was.

As if she'd have any interest in _anyone_? She never wanted to be touched again. That electricity... the wounded look on Enigma's face... Her heart ached and she huddled into herself.

No. She never wanted to be touched again.

Maybe it was a good thing he thought she was male.

The door flew open and Enigma led the Weavile back inside. He sat back against the wall, but Harlequin's eyes never left the Weavile as she joined Enigma's side. She grabbed one of the remaining pecha berries and cut it into two with her claws, offering one half to Enigma.

Harlequin gave a snort. Okay. She could take a hint. She rose to her feet and marched to the door.

"Hey, Harle, where are you going?" Enigma asked.

She looked back at him. "Leaving."  
She slipped out of the door and let it close behind her. Her fur bristled as she stood in the corridor. That weird spice was still lingering in the air over the mold and musty damp rock. She shook her head sharply to try and clear it and strode back to her own room.

Mind games... that Weavile was playing mind games. Harlequin wasn't jealous, but Kera's actions were causing her to doubt herself.

...

It was all a blur. Harlequin dug at her foreleg with the iron thorn, desperate to force the slither of everstone into the open wound.

 _"Going off your small size, I'm guessing you're not very strong... you think you can beat an evolved Pokemon with your puny size … Tools or not, when you're in combat you're in combat. Like it or not, you_ _ **will**_ _evolve."_

"No!" she wailed. "I will _not_ become like my father!"  
Tears streaked down her face as she jabbed at the stone, desperate to get it to stay in place.

Enigma voice echoed in the room and he prized the sharp object from her jaws. It hurt. Whatever he was doing to her leg, it hurt, but she had no energy to fight back.

"No! Get off me!"

"If I don't get it out, you're going to bleed to death!"

The room fell silent, filled only with heavy breathing. Then she was moved somewhere. Somewhere higher up. She felt dizzy. The world span.

Sloshing water... that's all she could hear. Water... and wind...

But the wind stopped as the world stopped spinning. Her leg hurt badly and she clenched her paw, sending a wave of pain up the entire limb.

"Harlequin..." It was Enigma's voice. He was here. She hadn't dreamt it. " _Please_ eat something."

She gulped, letting her body fall limp on the hay. She felt sick, and her head pulsed. She couldn't even move.

"Harle?"

He moved closer to her, and his claws reached out towards her face. She snarled and he backed away from her.

"Leave me alone..."

She could hear his bell as he moved across the room, and his feet splashed against the floor. He paused and she waited for that inevitable click as he closed the door behind him.

"I'll leave, but promise me you'll eat those berries."

She screwed her eyes shut, embarrassment washing over her. It was all such a blur. That Weavile's words had hurt her so much. She'd mocked her.

It hurt.

There was no click. No closing of any door. She strained to look over her shoulder, a wave of nausea joining the pulsing in her head.

He wasn't there. He'd gone.

Her head flopped back onto the hay and she looked down at her wounded leg. It was now wrapped in that same cloth Enigma wore as a scarf.

She screwed her eyes shut and tears streamed down her face.

It hurt.

She placed a paw over the rough fabric and clenched her teeth together. Her mind went to Enigma on the other side of that wall. He'd found her in such a state. He'd worried, that much was obvious. But what must he be thinking now?

She sobbed loudly and huddled into herself.

Her father had ruined everything.

He'd ruined her life.

...

It had all happened so fast. From the minute Harlequin had gone into Enigma's room, everything had just gone... wrong. It's like she'd been looking for an argument. The minute she'd accused him of telling everyone what she'd done, the words just wouldn't stop.

 _"Do you want me to go around broadcasting it?"_

 _"That's up to you. I don't really care." She fixed her blue eyes on his. "But you can tell that annoying Weavile. Maybe she might learn something."_

 _Enigma's eyes narrowed and he dug his claws into the hay. "Was all this just to make her feel guilty?!"  
"No. I genuinely don't want to evolve. I can't say my solution wasn't flawed -"  
"Wasn't flawed? It was ridiculous!"  
"I don't want anyone's pity, Enigma!" she snapped. "And I don't want to be ridiculed either!"  
They stared at each other, and she was breathing heavily with her canines bared. Enigma's claws wound tighter into that bed of hay as he glared at her._

 _"Would you rather I'd let you bleed to death?"_

He'd stormed from the room, but she didn't stop. She'd followed him, making it clear to Kera that she'd wounded herself. She'd sat there grinning at the Weavile like some crazed Pokemon.

Where had it all come from? Why had she reacted in such a way? As soon as they'd left the barracks, she instantly regretted it. She couldn't remove the image of him glaring at her from her mind.

Maybe that was why she'd gone after him. When the Murkrow appeared with news that Niana, Jex's sister, had been killed in battle by a Braviary, Kera had wanted to avenge her, and Enigma went with her. Niana had been sent on an assassination attempt. They'd hired a mercenary for defence, and she'd died. Harlequin didn't understand it. Fighting against Pokemon who, like herself, were scared of the Darkness seemed pointless to her, yet she'd gone after them. It was all she could do to keep up. Her leg had screamed at her, slowing her down. She kept telling herself to go back. She wasn't their enemy. But the thought of Enigma meeting the same fate as Niana made her physically sick. When she reached the clearing, everything became very real. Enigma was clutching a motionless, burned Kera in his arms while the Braviary was shooting from the sky towards him.

Brave bird. A high power, high risk attack. That Braviary was throwing himself into a suicidal drop, and he'd already taken a phenomenal amount of damage.

Harlequin threw herself at him, snatching his wing in her jaws and directing him into the ground, where his own strength was turned against him. She'd heard a snap. Something had broken, but he was still alive, just unconscious.

When she'd looked at Enigma, his eyes were filled with a blind fury. He no longer looked like himself. In the short time she'd known him, he'd been gentle and cheerful, and a bit of a joker. But now, he reached into that bird's chest and killed him.

He realised what he'd done, his eyes widening in horror, and he collapsed to the ground, completely speechless.

They buried Kera after that, and he said nothing on the way back to the barracks under the leering eyes of the Murkrow.

She paced back and forth in her room, warring with the dilemma now facing her.

Jex had issued a new rule. No females may be assassins. This was to enforce the rule already in place that assassins may have no emotional attachments.

She grit her teeth together and shook her head violently. What was she meant to do? She couldn't just leave. Even in daylight, the dark and dragon Pokemon still kept watch. She'd thought they slept, but no. There they were, in broad daylight. Watchful eyes, leering at them as they walked back into the Shadow Lands.

Trapped.

She could either reveal herself, and be killed, or hide her identity and live. All the assassins here thought she was male anyway. The only exception to that rule had been Kera.

A pang rang through her chest and she keeled over.

Kera... Enigma had been devastated.

It was obvious he loved her, and it had crushed him.

 _"No Pokemon here is allowed to develop an attachment. It can be used against us. It's a weakness."_

Jex's voice echoed through her head.

 _"It's a weakness."_

She bit her lip and looked over at the blank wall separating her room from Enigma's.

Weakness... he was her friend. Could she really keep lying to him? Could she really just let him go around thinking she's male?

She had to tell him. He'd keep it secret.

She walked over to the door and froze. But would he? She'd said some awful things to him earlier. Were they even still friends?

Her fur bristled slightly and she glanced back at the wall. No. She had to tell him. And she had to apologise. He was the only friend she'd made in this awful place. She stepped out into the corridor and moved over to his door. But before she could touch the handle, a sound reached her ears.

Crying...

She grimaced. He was crying... her heart twisted and she pushed the door open, revealing the Banette lying on his bed, one paw pressed over his eyes as his body shook with heavy sobs. He didn't show any indication he'd heard her.

She wasn't going to burden him with her problem now. Not when he clearly needed someone. She kicked the door closed behind her and slunk over to the bed, hopping up beside him.

He still didn't seem to notice her, his paw still pressed across his eyes and his face wet with tears. She flinched. It broke her heart. He was usually laid back and cheerful. She couldn't stand to see him like this.

She placed one paw on his shoulder and let herself flop down across his chest. His sobs eased off and he shifted beneath her. His arms wrapped around her and she jolted slightly, but he tightened his grip, wound his claws into her fur, and buried his face into her neck.

She let her body relax and closed her eyes, a small tear trickling down her face. She'd said some awful things earlier, but he didn't push her away. He needed someone, and even if he didn't talk to her, she was there.

...

Daylight flooded the room, and Harlequin's eyes fluttered open. Warmth spread throughout her body and she looked down to find Enigma still fast asleep beneath her. That familiar, spicy scent filled her nostrils. Her heart leapt and she pushed herself up, his arms falling away from her onto the hay. Regardless of her sudden movement, it didn't wake him.

His face was still streaked with tears, but at least he'd stopped crying and his breathing was now steady, not shaking with sobs. But he still looked sad. She couldn't stand it. She wanted to see that silly boyish grin on his face, to see him laugh and have him poke fun at her.

She wanted him to be happy.

She wanted to be the reason he was happy.

She lowered her nose to nuzzle his cheek... and froze. What was she doing? She had to get out of here...

She stood suddenly and threw herself from the bed, her claws skittering across the floor as she scrambled for the door. When she reached her own room, she slammed the door behind her and threw herself onto the bed, fixing her blue eyes on the bare wall.

Her heart was hammering at a million miles a minute. What on earth was she doing?

She curled up into a tight ball and groaned as a familiar smell greeted her. His scent was all over her fur, invading her senses and stirring through her stomach and chest.

She rolled onto her back, keeping her nose as far from her body as she could. But it didn't work.

She didn't want this... Why was this happening?

She couldn't develop feelings for him. Feelings caused pain... and in this awful place, they were a weakness.

 _"I've seen him angry. I've seen him heartbroken."_

No... She couldn't risk it. She couldn't ever tell him. It caused too much pain.

 _"I don't ever want to risk putting him through all that again."_

She groaned and buried her face into the hay, letting tears streak from her eyes onto the musty nest.

 _"So you refuse to tell him the truth?"_

She had to say nothing. Nothing. Keep using her mistaken identity. Keep that barrier up for good. She didn't want to lie...

 _"I have to."_

A whine escaped her mouth and she sobbed heavily into the hay.

 _"It keeps a wall between us."_

...

 **The dialogue in italics at the end is the conversation between Elsa and Harlequin from the main story. Kudos to those who picked it up! =D**

 **Please R &R!**


	5. Ashes

**A/N - This should probably be the first story in the one-shots since it details how Cleo and Spark met. However, I decided to upload them in the order I wrote them in (and I've not finished them yet...)**

 **I hope you enjoy =D**

 **Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its critters!**

Ashes

Smoke billowed into the air like a heavy cloud, filled with the smell of burning wood. The little Espurr shielded her face with her paws, covering her mouth and nose as she choked on the thick smoke.

"Mum!" she cried. "Dad!"

Howls echoed through the the burning forest, and dark shapes raced through the smoke, leaving behind a trail of terrible flames that burned red and orange through the thick, grey cloud. One of the shapes was larger than the others, wicked horns stretching from its head. It paused and raised its head, sniffing at the air, flames reflected in its red eyes. The Espurr cowered behind a thick tuft of grass, barely daring to breathe. The Houndoom's mouth curled into a snarl and it threw its head back and howled before racing after the rest of its pack.

The Espurr waited for a moment before climbing out from her hiding place. She stared into the blazing forest and her heart sank.

"Mum... Dad..."

Her voice was choked with sobs as she staggered forward. She knew it was no use. No one could have survived that blaze.

"Mum!"

Her ears twitched at the little voice. Someone was still alive? Her heart began to race and she scanned the grass to seek out its source.

"Dad!"

The grass rustled a few feet away. She sprinted over to it, using her paws to part it as she pushed her way through.

"Mum! Da-" Two black eyes fixed onto hers. A tiny Dedenne not much younger than herself stared back at her, shaking from head to foot. She was small enough to be scooped up in the Espurr's arms.

"It's okay," the Espurr told her. "I'm not going to hurt you."  
The Dedenne's large eyes became impossibly large. "Mum!" She dropped onto all-fours and bolted towards the blazing forest. "Dad!"  
"You can't go back there! It's too dangerous!"  
The Espurr chased after her, catching the Dedenne at the edge of the forest. The little mouse Pokemon sprinted back and forth as she desperately searched for a way in. The Espurr grabbed her in both paws and clutched her to her chest.

"It's too dangerous," she repeated.

"No!" The Dedenne wriggled in her arms, raking the Espurr with her claws as she fought against her grip. "Let me go!"

The Espurr's heart broke as she carried the writhing Dedenne with her, taking them both away from the blazing wreck of their home. She flinched as the tiny Pokemon bit and scratched at her arms, but she refused to let go. She couldn't let her go back into those flames.

The smell of smoke and burning wood filled her nostrils. She clutched the Dedenne protectively, screwed her eyes shut and ran, scurrying over the uneven ground.

The Dedenne's frantic squeals split through the air.

"I'm not going with you! Put me down!" She roared and wriggled in her grip, dragging her claws over the Espurr's grey fur. "Let! Me! Go!"

The Espurr's body locked up as electricity surged through her. She crumpled to the ground and the little Dedenne wriggled free from her grip. She gave the Espurr one glance back before scurrying away, back towards the forest.

"Wait!" The Espurr dragged herself around so she was facing the Dedenne's retreating tail. "Your parents..."

The Dedenne halted and looked back at her. Her little face was wet with tears.

"They're still in the fire, like mine," the Espurr went on. "But how did you get away?"

"They put me out of the window," she said. "Told me to run."  
"Then run."

"I can't just leave them! I need them!"  
"I know. I need mine too. But... if they saved you, how do you think they'd feel if you ran back in there and died?"

The Dedenne looked from the Espurr to the forest and back. Her paws hung limply at her side and her ears drooped. The Espurr pushed herself to her feet, her body still feeling stiff from the little Pokemon's thundershock.

"No..." the Dedenne gasped. Fresh tears glistened in her eyes. "They're... they're not dead. They _can't_ be."

The Espurr scooped her back up in her arms. "Come on. We need to get away from that fire."  
"No!" the Dedenne wailed. Her voice faltered and she flopped against the Espurr's chest. "No... Why...?"

The little Espurr blinked back tears as she pushed herself over the Rocky Plains. Wood popping and cracking in the blazing heat and the Dedenne's loud sobs were the only sounds that filled the air now. The sun was setting into the distance, and it wouldn't be long until night fell, bringing with it the assassins that worked for the Darkness. The two little hatchlings would soon be wandering in the dark alone.

"We need to find somewhere to sleep," the Espurr said.

"Where?" the Dedenne croaked. "We're outside. It's dangerous here. It was nice and safe in my tree-house."

"So was mine. But if we stick together we might be fine." The Espurr looked down at the little Pokemon. "What's your name?"

The Dedenne wiped a paw across her eyes. "Spark."  
"I'm Cleo."  
"Well, Cleo. My mum and dad always told me not to play with Espurr. They said Meowstic and Dedenne don't get on."

Cleo stared blankly ahead as she trudged over the rocky ground. "Is that so? Well. I'm not going to hurt you."  
The Dedenne was silent for a while, shifting in Cleo's arms slightly as she looked around at their slowly darkening surroundings.

"I'm sorry I shocked you," she said.

Cleo shrugged. "It's okay. You were scared."  
"But... when we find a new place to live, we're parting ways. All right?"

Cleo nodded. It was understandable. If she didn't trust an Espurr, there was no sense in them sticking together longer than necessary.

A low howl rumbled through the air and the two Pokemon froze. Cleo's fur stood on end down her spine and she glanced back at the forest. It was now a blazing orange hue on the horizon, the sky above it black with smoke. The sky had turned into a deep blue and the first stars poked through between the clouds.

"It's not the Wildfires is it?" Spark whispered.

Cleo shook her head. "I don't think so. It didn't sound like... like their howls."  
Spark swallowed audibly as Cleo pressed on. A deep valley opened up before them, and the wind whisked by followed by another howl. She let out a long sigh.

"It's just the wind flowing through the Howling Valley," she said.

"That's good and all, but how do we get across?" The Dedenne wriggled free and landed with a light thud on the floor. She stood up as tall as her small stature would allow and looked up and down the valley.

"I'm almost certain there's a bridge along here somewhere. But it looks so different in the dark." She followed the Dedenne's gaze as she searched for the bridge. Finally it caught her eye to her right. "Over there!"  
They sprinted down the length of the valley towards the rickety rope bridge. It swayed unsteadily in the wind. Some of the wooden slats had been blown free, leaving gaping holes in the surface. It looked intimidating but Cleo was sure it would hold their weight.

She ventured one paw onto it, holding onto the rope tightly. It swayed a little as the wind snagged it, throwing her off balance, but once it settled, it became easier to walk across, only wobbling under their weight. Spark hopped along ahead of her, bouncing over the wide holes with ease. Strong wind wind howled below them, swinging the bridge from left to right. Cleo held on to the rope rail for dear life while Spark cowered down, gripping on to the wooden panels. It soon settled, and she picked up pace as they scurried across the bridge, leaping over the gaps in haste to avoid being caught in another gust of wind.

Her feet finally back on steady ground, Cleo paused to catch her breath. When she stood up again, she gave one last look back at the blazing forest. Her heart ached and she tore her eyes away from it, looking down at Spark. The tiny Pokemon gave her a sympathetic look and turned her eyes to the plains that spread out before them.

"I don't think I want to go into those woods," she said.

"We might not have much choice." Cleo stooped to pick her up. "We'll try and go around it."

With each step, it seemed to grow darker. The closer they drew to the woods, the more and more foreboding it appeared. The leaf-laden branches looked like claws stretching up into the dark sky.

Cleo's heart began to race and she searched around for somewhere to hide. There was nothing. The bushes that grew on the Rocky Plains were much too small. Spark might have been able to hide in one, but Cleo was much bigger than her tiny companion.

She kept moving left, searching for the path that moved around the woods. There had to be one. There just had to be.

A shrill caw split the air, causing her fur to stand on end and Spark to go rigid in her grip.

Not Murkrow... surely they were far enough away from the trees?

Keep going. Don't look up.

She screwed her eyes shut and ran. No sooner had she begun moving, wingbeats and caws erupted in the air. Spark shot from her grip and bolted. Cleo opened her eyes just in time to see the Dedenne's tail vanish into a patch of stiff weeds before the inky-black feathered bodies of the Murkrow filled her vision. Pain seared through her body as they struck her with their beaks and wings, and raked her flesh with their claws.

She tried to strike them back, but they nimbly dodged her paws and retaliated with lightning speed. She tried a confusion, the energy humming in her ears, but it didn't have any effect on them. Their beaked faces split into jeers and grins as they laughed at her.

This was it.

There was nothing she could do.

She fell to the ground beneath their wicked claws.

"Oi! Get off her!"

A flash of lightning lit up the sky, and the Murkrow screeched as electricity shot through their bodies. They struck the ground like a heavy, black rain, their bodies jerking with paralysing static. Spark stood a couple of feet away, her whiskers crackling and sparking. The remaining Murkrow turned their red eyes onto the Dedenne, their grins melting away into looks of pure rage. They shot at her, two of them soon engulfed in another electrical attack. Those that broke through struck her with their wings and buffeted her to the ground. The tiny Pokemon vanished beneath a screeching swarm of enraged birds.

Cleo forced herself to her feet, her body screaming in pain. Spark's yells could be heard above the wild caws of the Murkrow. Flashes of electricity poked through the flock, bringing down the Murkrow in ones and twos. It wasn't enough. If Cleo didn't do anything, that tiny hatchling wouldn't survive.

She rushed at them with her claws, catching one of them on the back. It yelled and turned its attacks on her, only to receive a cuff to the beak. It fell to the ground onto its back and Cleo struck it again. The Murkrow raked her with its claws as it struggled to right itself. The rest of the flock were still dropping, although Spark's attacks were growing less frequent.

Cleo felt so helpless. There was nothing she could do.

Scratching the Murkrow's backs did nothing other than turn their attacks on her. She just hoped it would be enough to get them off Spark so she could shock them with her electricity.

Another one dropped. Then another. Before long the Murkrow were back on Cleo, their angry cries ringing in her ears as they tried to stop her intervening.

A flash of electricity ran through them, dropping another three, leaving just two of the angry Murkrow.

They hovered uncertainly in the air, looking down at the fallen bodies and the two beaten hatchlings. They cawed at each other then took off towards the woods, vanishing into the night.

Cleo ran a paw over her bloodied arm and looked down at Spark. She opened her mouth to thank her, but the Dedenne wobbled and fell onto her front.

"Spark?"

She stooped to pick her up, and the little Pokemon fell limp in her arms. Cleo shook her head slowly and stood up, holding the tiny Dedenne to her chest. She was still breathing. Despite how much her body screamed in protest, she had to get her to someone fast.

She took off around the woods, following the edge of the trees. She could still hear the Murkrow's caws echoing in her mind. It set her nerves on edge, but she refused to look at the sky or the canopy.

Her lungs felt fit to burst. She had no idea how long she ran for. She didn't stop until she saw the outline of houses against the moonlit sky. With a renewed energy, she bolted towards them.

The wooden houses looked like they'd been erected with some haste. Two Pokemon – a Sawk and Throh – cut her off as she ran into the street. She took a step back, clutching Spark tightly. They weren't dark Pokemon, but their size made them very intimidating.

Their eyes widened when they saw her, tracing over her beaten body and the tiny Pokemon clutched in her paws.

The Sawk turned to the Throh and gestured to a large building. "Get Tinker."

Cleo watched the large fighting Pokemon saunter off then looked back at the slender Sawk.

"What happened to you?" he asked. "Is your friend...?"

Cleo followed his eyes down to Spark. "We ran into some Murkrow. Our home... the Wildfires..."  
"The Wildfires?"

She looked up at the new voice. A Riolu not much taller than her stood beside the Throh. One of his eyes didn't react like the other as he scanned them over her, taking in her scratched and bleeding body and the unconscious Dedenne.

"You need treatment. Come with me."  
She gave one last look back at the Sawk and Throh before following after the Riolu. She was growing incredibly tired. She barely took in the inside of the large building. She wasn't even sure how she'd ended up in the medical ward.

All she remembered was being told Spark was alive before she finally let herself fall asleep. Her dreams, however, were filled with violent nightmares of fire, smoke, black feathers, horrible howls and wicked red eyes.

...

Light dazzled Cleo's vision and she placed a paw over her eyes, rubbing them as she sat up. Her surroundings were blurry and it took a moment for her eyes to focus. Her body protested as she pushed herself up, taking in the room's bare walls and low beds of hay. She could hear someone chomping loudly and she looked over at the bed beside her. Spark sat with a plate of berries, wolfing down one after the other.

The little Dedenne swallowed her current mouthful and looked over at Cleo, her face almost hidden behind the red berry she was clutching.

"You're awake," she said.

Cleo nodded. "I'm glad to see you're okay."

"I'm glad to see you're _both_ okay."  
The two hatchlings looked over at the far wall. Stood leaning beside the elevator with his arms crossed was the young Riolu.

"What were you both thinking, running around in the dark like that?"

"We were running from our home," Cleo explained. "It was burned down by the Wildfires."

Spark was silent, staring down at her half-eaten berry.

The Riolu nodded. "Yes. I recall you saying something about the Wildfires. Still, you should have hidden somewhere. The pair of you are barely out of your eggs!"

"You aren't much older than us yourself," said Cleo.

"Our home was torched." Spark continued to stare at her berry. "It doesn't matter how old we are. There was nowhere to hide. Not for both of us, anyway."

The Riolu looked away from them. "Well... you're safe now. But if the Wildfires are so close by, it might be wise for us to move on elsewhere."  
"Us?" Spark frowned.

The Riolu raised his eyebrows. "Of course. You don't think I'm going to let two little hatchlings walk straight into danger again do you?"

"Little?!" Electricity danced over Spark's whiskers, causing Cleo's heart to leap into her throat and the Riolu to watch her cautiously. The Dedenne sighed and the electricity faded away. She waved a paw in defeat. "Urgh. I'm too tired to argue with you."

"Anyway," said the Riolu, "You don't have long to rest. We're moving on from here very soon. We're not far from the Moorland's Forest. It's safer there."

"I'm sorry," said Spark. "Why are you telling us all this? Who's in charge here?"

The Riolu fixed her with a firm stare. "Me."

Spark dropped her berry. "But... but you're just a hatchling like us!"

He sighed and turned away from them, pausing as he stepped into the elevator. He placed a paw on the wall of it and looked back at them. "The Guild was left in my care. When a lost Pokemon is looking for the Outcast Guild, they ask for Tinker. That's me. I head it alongside an Alakazam called Grey."

"I've heard of the Guild," said Cleo. "Don't you rescue Pokemon affected by the Darkness?"

Tinker nodded. "Yes. Gather your things. We leave at noon."

The elevator rattled away as he pulled himself up by a rope.

Cleo sat in silence, staring at her paws. So much had happened. In less than a day she'd gone from living in a forest with her family to travelling to unknown places with a group of strange Pokemon.

"Cleo?"

She looked over at Spark. The little hatchling was pawing at the large berry, rolling it back and forth with one paw.

"I know I said we'd part ways, but... I'm not sure I want to."

Cleo looked away from her. "Why not?"

"You saved my life."

She looked back at her. Little tears were beading in the corners of the Dedenne's eyes.

"You stopped me from running into that fire," she went on. "And you stopped those Murkrow from attacking me too."

"You got them off me first," said Cleo.

"Well, I couldn't let them kill you. It made me so angry to see them attacking a helpless Pokemon like that. You hadn't even done anything to them. They just came out of nowhere!"  
Cleo stared back down at her paws. The Pokemon who lived in the Sparkling Forest hadn't done anything either. Her parents, Spark's parents, and all the other Pokemon, had been mindlessly wiped out in less than a day.

"Cleo." Spark turned to face her and sat down at the edge of her bed. "I know I'm only small. I've always been small. But I believe if we try, if we work together, we can help other Pokemon like the Guild does."

Cleo felt her eyes widen with surprise. She looked back at the little Dedenne with a start.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Hey! Had you ever been in a fight before? Me neither. We might have been scratched and beaten after all that, but we worked together and won that fight! If we trained a bit, we could help other Pokemon all across the region!"

A small smile played at the corner of Cleo's mouth. She leant forward on her knees and chuckled.

"So you want to work with a Pokemon your parents told you not to trust?"  
Spark gave her a small smile. "I think if my parents saw what you did, you'd change their opinion in a heartbeat."  
Cleo chuckled again. "All right. We'll talk to Tinker about joining the Guild."

...

Cleo stared down at the sun-shaped badge in her white paw. After all the training they'd been through, her and Spark had finally made it. She might not have learned any skills that could deal with dark Pokemon at long range, but with Spark fighting alongside her, they made quite the formidable team. She'd only evolved a couple of days ago, and her strength had increased exceptionally. Now they were about to be added to the ranks of the Guild.

As soon as that badge was attached to her bag, she'd officially be a Guild Warrior.

"Make sure you always wear that badge where others can see it," Tinker told them.

The Alakazam sat beside him nodded. "You don't want to be mistaken for Heretics."

"Roger!" Spark fastened the badge to her scarf.

"And remember," Tinker went on. "No mentioning New City outside these walls."

"I know. Don't worry. We won't breathe its name." Cleo fastened the badge to her bag.

That was it. Her and Spark were now Guild Warriors.

"Your first job." Tinker pulled a sheet of paper from amongst the chaos of paperwork and knick-knacks on his desk. "There's been an attack on a little town on the other side of the Moorland's Forest. They fell under attack from a gang of Scrafty. They held their own, but unfortunately many died and most of the survivors are injured. They need supplies, and escorting to New City for safety."

"And we need to scout them out first," said Spark. "Make sure they're not traitors."

Tinker gave a curt nod. "Be careful. You're going alongside Skipper."

"A'right!" A Marshstomp stood in the doorway. He adjusted the goggles on his head and beamed at them. "Let's be off then, aye?"

Spark hopped onto Cleo's shoulder and huddled into her neck fur. "Yes! Wow, I've not seen outside in so long. I wonder how much it's changed?"

Skipper glanced back at her. "Dinnae 'old yer breath, kid."

Cleo turned to follow him.

"Take care, Cleo."

She paused in the doorway and looked back at Tinker. He sat back in his chair, not taking his eyes off her. Spark chuckled in her ear. She ignored the Dedenne and gave him a small wave before following after the Marshstomp.

"I can't believe we've made it this far," said Spark. "It seems like only yesterday we were talking about this in that hospital ward."

Cleo smiled and pawed the badge on her bag.

A sun, shining a little light into the darkness of the lives affected by that awful war.

"I know," she said. "Let's do our best, shall we?"

...

 **Please R &R! =D**


	6. Traitor

**A/N - This will be the last of the one-shots I'm afraid. I've had very little inspiration for them, and I think I'm forcing them a bit. I struggled with this one, and I think it shows. As such, this will be marked as 'complete', and if I write more it will be very much on an 'as and when' basis if I get the inspiration to do so, and isn't a sure-fire 'yes'.**

 **Thank you so much to all who have read, reviewed and faved 'The End' and these one-shots! I'm so glad you've enjoyed the ride! =D**

 **If you're following me, keep an eye open for a new Pokemon fanfiction coming up in the near future. I've had a new idea forming recently and I'm very excited about it!**

 **Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its characters!**

Traitor

"C'mon, Tinker!"

The Pancham laughed as he looked back at Tinker over his shoulder. The Riolu gasped for breath as he raced after him.

"Slow down!" Tinker growled.

"Nah! I ain't goin' that fast. You're just a Slugma!" The Pancham stuck his tongue out at him and turned his full attention onto the large rock in the distance.

Tinker kicked at the ground, pushing himself forward. But it just wasn't enough. The Pancham reached the rock before him and placed a paw on it. He looked back at him and grinned widely.

"Beat'cha!" He closed his eyes and laughed. "That means _you're_ the rotten egg."

Tinker balled his paws into fists and growled, looking away from the Pancham. The little panda Pokemon just chuckled and leant back against the rock.

"So that means you take my chores on for the next two days!" The Pancham held out his paw and counted off on his claws. "Dish washin', cleanin' the dining room, helpin' your dad with tidyin' the training room."

Tinker threw his arms in the air. "I know! I know the drill, Tumble. All of your chores are now mine. Why can I never win this?"

Tumble laughed and crossed his arms. "'Cause you're too slow."

Tinker clenched his jaw and looked away from him. He lurched forward as the Pancham's heavy paw struck him in the back.

"You know what, Tink? I'll make it up to ya. I'll give you half my cake."

Tinker looked round into Tumble's grinning face. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth and he gave a small laugh, giving the Pancham a pat on the shoulder.

"Okay," he said. "You've got a deal."

Tumble steered him back towards the little village. "You never know. You might be able to get your sister to help ya."

Tinker smirked at him. "Ah, you'd help out then. Wouldn't you?"

Tumble looked away to hide his blush and cleared his throat. "I dunno. I'd think about it..."

As they reached the Guild headquarters, Tinker could make out the form of a slender Riolu leaning against the wall beside another Pancham who looked identical to Tumble. She gave them a smile and looked at Tumble, causing his white fur to turn crimson.

"Let me guess," she said slowly. "You've tricked Tinker into doing your chores again?"

"I uh..." Tumble wrung his paws together and looked away from her. "He lost fair'n'square!" He looked back at Tinker and grinned. "Like always cos he's such a loser."

"Really?" She leant forwards and placed her paws behind her back, fixing one eye on Tumble as a grin spread across her face. "Then maybe I'll help out again this time."  
The female Pancham turned to her and chuckled. "Oh, that'll get his lazy tail in gear! My brother would probably do anything for you, Blossom. You could probably convince him to do _your_ chores for a week!"

Tumble almost leapt out of his fur, turning a deep shade of crimson again. "Hey! Shut up, Rough!"  
The female Pancham laughed and trotted through the Guild doors with her twin brother hot on her tail.

Blossom looked back at Tinker and smiled. "You really need to work on your agility if you're ever going to get one up on that rascal."

She stood aside to let him into the building, and he flashed her a smile as he passed her.

"You never know," he said. "When I evolve, I might be much faster. I'd love to see the look on his face then."

She threw her head back and laughed lightly. "Oh, me too."

...

Krayne stuffed the disc-shaped target into the cupboard and closed the door, locking it with a click that seemed to echo off the bare walls.

"Well, that's the last of them." He looked down at the four little Pokemon. "It sure goes faster when there's a group of us, huh?"  
Tumble scratched his nose and mumbled something under his breath.

The Blaziken raised an eyebrow at him. "What was that?"

Tough looked up at him. "He said, 'Yeh. If you say so.'"

Krayne looked down at Tumble and laughed. "If it were just you, little one, I think you'd be singing a different song, since we'd be here cleaning this room into the night."

The door to the training hall opened and the long face of an Alakazam peered in at them. He fixed Krayne with a serious look that sent chills through Tinker's body.

"Is there a problem, Grey?" Krayne asked.

The Alakazam's brow furrowed. "I need to to come with me, Krayne."  
The Blaziken looked back down at the hatchlings. "Can I trust you all to give this floor a good sweep?"

Blossom raised a paw in salute. "You can trust us, dad!"

Tumble yawned widely. "You can trust them, sure."

Rough chuckled. "We'll sweep the floor with Tumble's tail."

The two Pancham shoved each other then Tumble took off chasing after his sister.

Krayne sighed and shook his head. "Tinker, keep an eye on them and make sure things get done. I'll see you at the dinner table."

Tinker nodded and watched his dad leave the room. His heart felt heavy. That look on Grey's face was one he'd only seen once before. A time that was followed by a lot of tears as the Outcasts moved away from their home – the home he'd grown up knowing – as it burned behind them.

A hollow feeling was ripped in his chest as he recalled his dad telling him and his sister they'd never see their mother again.

"Argh! Get off me, you big lump!"  
Tinker turned his head to find Tumble pinning his sister to the floor, trying to avoid her flailing feet striking him in the stomach.

"Maybe I should sweep the floor with _your_ tail!" Tumble growled.

Rough grabbed his ear in her paw and tugged, causing him to let out a loud squeal interspersed with playful giggles.

Neither would they. Rough and Tumble were orphans, leaving their home behind in that burning village.

He gave himself a good shake and reached behind himself for the broom, but it wasn't there. Blossom had scooted off with it, dragging the worn bristles across the wooden floor. She nudged the two squabbling Pancham with it.

"This job would go much faster if you'd stop getting fur all over the floor," she told them. She looked over at Tinker and her shoulders slumped. "Drag them to the dining hall. I'll finish up in here."  
"No, I'll do it!" Tumble leapt off his sister and grabbed the broom in both paws. "Someone with your dainty paws shouldn't be getting them dirty."

She snatched the broom off him and nudged him with the end. "Go. Save me a slice of cake in compensation."  
Tumble backed away from her towards the door. "I'll save you the _biggest_ slice of cake!"  
Tinker caught his sister's eye and she shook his head at him slowly. Tinker copied her and followed the two Pancham from the room.

...

There'd been no sign of Krayne or Grey over dinner.

Tinker's head was spinning when he left the dining room. The look on Grey's face was fixed in his mind – the concern, the ominous way he'd told his dad to go with him.

What worried him the most was no one had seen him.

Tinker's fur stood on end down his back and he paused on the stairwell, one paw fastened over the wooden rail. He wasn't sure he wanted to go to his room. His empty room, knowing his father wasn't in the Guild building.

"They don't tell us anythin', do they?"

Tinker looked round to find Tumble leaning against the wall to his left. He gave Tinker a sideways glance while he nibbled on a green leaf. Tinker stared at the Pancham for a moment then shook his head and looked back at the bare, wooden steps.

"No," he said. "They don't."  
"I wonder what Grey wanted?" Tumble went on. "It seemed pretty serious, whatever it was."

Tinker clenched his paw around the rail, the wood creaking under his weight.

"I... want to go and look for them," he said.

Tumble raised an eyebrow at him. "You can't be serious?"

"Of course I'm serious."

"You'd be turned into dragon chow!"

"Over half their army is dark type," Tinker told him. "And I have an advantage over it."

"Really?" Tumble chuckled and removed the leaf from his mouth. "So do I."

Tinker met his eyes and the two of them stood in silence for a moment. Tumble popped the leaf back in his mouth and leant back against the wall with a hefty sigh.

"I need to go," said Tinker. "He's my dad."

He released the stair rail and trudged silently towards the Guild's double-doors.

"You know, I may not have any parents." Tumble's voice froze him in his tracks. "But your dad's the closest me 'n' my sis have got."

Tinker looked back over his shoulder. Tumble watched him from his spot against the wall.

Tinker's mouth hung open as he tried to find the right words to say, but all that came out was, "I never knew you felt like that."

Tumble gave the Riolu a small smile and kicked himself back from the wall, marching across the bare floor. He paused beside Tinker and gave him a pat on the back.

"Aye, that's why I'm not lettin' you go alone."

A huge smile spread across Tinker's face. Two fighting Pokemon. They might only be hatchlings, but they might actually stand a chance in finding his dad.

The large doors swung inwards, letting the cold night air wash over them. Tinker's fur stood on end, and he narrowed his eyes as he squinted into the inky blackness. It took a moment for them to adjust, but when they did his heart almost froze in his chest.

Everything looked so different.

The trees of the Border Woods were black and skeletal against the dark sky. The clouds seemed to blot out the stars and moon as they trailed along above them. The village itself seemed hauntingly empty. Not even a candle flickered behind any house windows.

No light. Nothing to give them away to the dark Pokemon that flocked the sky and floor, looking for any sign of Outcast life.

"Where do you think he went?" Tumble's voice was barely a whisper.

Tinker's eyes were drawn to the line of trees in the distance, their branches resembling intimidating claws.

He knew there were still Pokemon who were fighting to escape the Darkness in those woods. His own family had lived just outside them. Not all the Outcasts had made it out when they tried to escape. Maybe Grey had been looking for survivors.

Maybe that was where his dad had gone.

"The Border Woods," Tinker said flatly.

He could feel Tumble's eyes on him, questioning him, asking him if he was going mad. No way were two hatchlings going to wander into the dangerous depths of those trees.

"All right."

Tinker turned sharply to look at the Pancham, expecting sarcasm, or a look that told him he was going alone, but instead he found a broad, encouraging smile.

"Let's go find your dad," he said.

...

The Border Woods were cold. Unwelcoming.

Tinker hadn't been inside them in a long time. His parents had warned him away, instead living in a village just on the outskirts, waiting to move on. One day they'd been left with no choice. They were pushed out in flames as the Wildfires ripped through it, and those that survived set up temporary homes a little way away while those that were wounded recovered.

His doubts were nagging at him now. Surely Krayne had gone back? Surely they could turn back, and he'd be waiting for them at the Guild? Tinker winced at the thought of a search party desperately looking for the two missing hatchlings. If he was mistaken, they'd be in a lot of trouble.

"Tink, wait."

Tumble's paw fastened over his upper arm and the Pancham sniffed at the air, his ears pricked upright.

"I can hear somethin'," he whispered.

"Is it my dad?" Tinker strained his ears and squinted into the shadows.

Whatever it was the Pancham had heard, it must have stopped. He released Tinker and his face twisted in confusion as he visibly warred with the decision to shrug it off and move on, or turn around and go back.

He gave Tinker a pat on the back and took two steps forward. Tinker fell in step beside him, but they hadn't gone very far when something snapped behind them.

Tinker span and stifled a yell as a paw slammed across his mouth. The leering face of another Riolu snarled at him and gave him a firm shake.

"You moron!" she hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Looking for dad." Tinker's voice was muffled by her paw.

She removed it and took a step back, her eyes narrowed as she let out a flustered sigh. Rough appeared behind her, looking from Tumble to Tinker and back.

"We're going back," said Blossom. "Move your tails. Now."

"But we don't know where dad is," said Tinker. "He's not come back. And neither has Grey."

Blossom glanced over his shoulder at the trees and gave another small sigh before grabbing his arm.

"Move it. We're going back."

Tinker grit his teeth and slumped after her.

"You're fortunate enough you've not been spotted," she said quietly. "Now hurry."

She picked up pace, dragging Tinker after her by the paw. The two Pancham trotted after them and he could hear Rough berating her brother for being an idiot.

Just as Blossom broke through the trees, screeching caws split through the air and Tinker instinctively threw himself to the floor with his paws over his head. Blossom turned back, screaming at him to stand up, but her voice was drowned out by caws and beating wings as Murkrow descended on them. A loud scream flew from his mouth as their beaks and claws tore at his body, and terror coursed through him as he watched his sister engulfed in their black, feathered forms.

Tumble's voice erupted over the screeching caws of the Murkrow. "Get off them!"

One of the birds was grabbed from Tinker's body and launched away from him into two of the Murkrow above his sister. Another one went spinning off him to collide with its brethren. Several Murkrow abandoned the Riolu to fly at the Pancham twins, and Tinker turned his head in time to see them lashing out at the birds, spinning them away in what Tinker remembered them calling 'circle throw'.

A wicked laugh brought the Murkrow's cries to a halt and the birds rose to the trees, leering down at the four scratched and beaten hatchlings.

"You're not going to get very far with attacks like that, little runts."

Tinker twisted himself uncomfortably to look up at the trees. The boughs dipped and swayed as a heavy Honchkrow landed in them, his beak twisted into a grin.

' _Yurlik!_ ' Tinker's blood turned to ice in his veins.

"Now, tell me," the massive bird began, "why four little Pokemon barely out of their eggs would venture into the Border Woods?"  
Tinker pushed himself to his feet, his entire body shaking with fear and pain.

"I'm looking for my dad." His voice came out as a gasp rather than the intimidating demand he'd been hoping for.

Yurlik just laughed, and the Murkrow echoed him until it felt like the very woods were laughing. Tinker's fur bristled and he took a step back towards his sister. The Honchkrow waved a wing at him and two Murkrow bolted from the trees with their talons spread. Flames erupted around his right foot and he brought it up into an ark, striking one of the birds in the jaw. Its neck snapped back and it fell to the ground with a thud. The other Murkrow flapped in the air, cawing in confusion, until another two shot at him from behind and grabbed both his arms in their sharp talons.

"Tinker!" Blossom gasped.

"You're going nowhere," Yurlik sneered. "I'd heard there was a village around here filled with fighting Pokemon, many of which escaped the Wildfires. They were led by some pesky Blaziken, which – if my assumptions are correct from that demonstration of your attack – was your father."

Tinker flashed his canines and snarled.

"We've been looking for him," Yurlik went on. "But, fortunately for you, he's not here."

"Fortunately?" Tinker spat.

"Yes. Fortunately." Yurlik grinned. "It means we'll be keeping you as bait. And live bait works better than dead bait."

The Murkrow laughed.

Tinker kept his eyes on the Honchkrow, the beating of wings loud in his ears from the two flapping birds beside his head. It would just take one jerk of his arms to smash the two abhorrent birds together, and one swift leap to reach the Honchkrow in the tree. With the massive bird's girth, he wouldn't be taking off quickly. It was a sure hit.

He didn't even need to give it a second thought.

In one fluid motion, the two Murkrow were brought together, yelps flying from their beaks with the impact. With them discarded from his limbs, he jumped forwards and kicked the ground, rising up towards the tree with his foot ablaze.

Yurlik's eyes widened with surprise and he spread his massive wings, the branch lurching as he prepared to kick off from it.

All wind left Tinker as something heavy collided with his side and smashed him into the ground. His eyes shot wide open as Tumble leapt from him, his mouth turned into a frown and both hands on his hips.

"You fool! D'ya wanna get us all killed?!"

Yurlik chuckled as he flopped on top of Tinker, beating the Pancham aside with his wing.

"Your little friend's right," he crooned. "For that little stunt, I think I'll be taking compensation. You lot!" He rounded on the Murkrow flock, causing them to rise into the sky like a black, cawing cloud. "Reprimand the other three and take them into the woods and spread word we've got them held! We'll lure that Blaziken out!"

He turned his grinning face back onto Tinker, and the Riolu glanced his two friends and sister as they were dragged screaming into the woods. The flat cries of the Murkrow resounded through the trees and echoed in the distance as their message spread.

' _That idiot!_ ' He closed his eyes and flinched. ' _I could have saved us!_ '

Pain seared through his face as Yurlik's talons collided with his head. His eyes flew open and his heart leapt into his throat as the massive bird's beak flicked down towards his face, snapping at his right eye. A splitting scream flew from his mouth and he snatched his paws up to defend himself. The right one became warm and wet and his heart hammered as he realised what had happened. He removed it, finding it coated in blood, and Yurlik stood above him, his head thrown back as he licked his beak. He looked back down at him, the tip of his black beak tinted red, and grinned.

"That aught to teach you not to mess with me," Yurlik growled. "Until I finish you off, anyway."

The Honchkrow's talons dug into his shoulder and he felt himself lifted slightly as the massive bird flapped his wings. But rather than carry him over the canopy, he was dragged over sharp twigs and foliage into the trees, then tossed discourteously into a sharp thicket.

"Tinker!" Blossom grabbed him and sat him up, the tip of her paw brushing his bloodied face. "Oh, Tinker..." She turned her livid gaze onto Tumble who cowered away from her.

"We could've died," the Pancham muttered. "He should be glad he only lost an eye."

Tinker wiped the blood from his face, grimacing as more trickled down to replace it. He pushed Blossom away and tried to heave himself to his feet.

"We need to get out of here," he grunted.

"Are ya mad?" Tumble snorted. "Have ya learned nothin'?"

Tinker turned his head to leer at him. Everything looked strange now. Two dimensional, as though any sense of distance had been taken away from him. They sat in silence, their breathing heavy, drowned out only by the caws from the Murkrow flock.

He couldn't make out what they were saying, but Yurlik's orders were clear. They were sending a message that would lure his dad to the Border Woods, and to his inevitable end.

"They're going to kill our dad," Tinker told him flatly. "The only way we can save him is to run. If they lose us -"

"They'll trick him. Tell him we're here anyway," said Blossom. "Then track us down and kill us."

He turned to face her, but she couldn't meet his gaze.

"Tumble's right," she said. "We need to stay here."

"They'll kill us all," said Tinker.

"We stand a better chance in larger numbers. If we sit here, dad will show up. He won't come alone. We can beat them together."

A strange sucking noise expanded through the woods, bringing the caws to an abrupt, surprised end. Several of the Murkrow took to the canopy, flapping in confusion.

Tumble pulled the leaves of the thicket aside and the leaf fell from his mouth.

"It's Krayne and Grey," he whispered.

Tinker felt his heart sink. "Just the two of them?"

A fighting type and a psychic type. Both of them were weak to the Murkrow and Honchkrow. They didn't stand a chance.

He covered his face with his paws and groaned.

"Where are they?" his father's voice demanded. "Let them go. They're only children."

Yurlik laughed. "Children that decided they were both strong and brave enough to walk through the Border Woods? They deserve the fate that awaits them."  
"Can you find them?" Tinker assumed this question was aimed at Grey.

The Murkrow flapped hysterically and swerved from the trees, but a bright flash of electricity brought their endeavours to a sharp end as their bodies rained down into the undergrowth.

Yurlik tutted. "So you have some surprises at your disposal, vermin? I can assure you that trick won't work twice!"

The massive bird lurched forwards and let out a surprised caw as he collided with thin air. A blazing foot struck him in the back of the head, the results blocked out as Grey's long face appeared in the thicket.

"Thank goodness you're alive!" he said. "I'm taking you home. Stand close."

"Dad can't fight him alone!" Tinker snapped. "Let us help!"

"You're in no state to help, Tinker! You need emergency treatment!"  
Krayne grunted and struck the ground, followed by Yurlik's victorious laugh.

"You might be fast, but I have the upper hand, Blaziken!"

Tinker shoved Grey aside and raced from the thicket, his flaming foot colliding with Yurlik's tail. The bird yowled and leapt from the fallen Blaziken, striking Tinker with his wing and knocking him off his feet. He pushed himself up to see Yurlik spin on the spot and strike Grey with his beak, the electricity dying on the Alakazam's dual spoons as he dropped them to the floor. Murkrow bolted from the trees and snatched them away, rendering the large psychic Pokemon helpless. He turned his expressionless eyes onto Tinker and his heart sank.

They really were at a disadvantage.

Yurlik stared at the four hatchlings as he addressed his Murkrow flock. "You lot deal with the kids. The Blaziken's mine. We'll sort the Alakazam out last."

"No!" Tumble rushed over to the Honchkrow and stopped beside Krayne, panting for breath. "Let him go! Please!"

" _Please?_ " Yurlik spat. "You think I'll release him in exchange for 'please'?"

The Murkrow flock erupted into laughter and Tumble's shoulders slumped, his eyes going to the Blaziken.

"I don't have a family," he said. "The Wildfires killed them. He helped raise me. Let him go. Do what you want with us but _let him go_!"  
Tinker felt Blossom tense at his side as she watched the exchange. None of them knew what to say. None of them wanted to die, and Tumble was offering their lives for his dad.

"No." The voice had come from Krayne.

Before Yurlik could react, he flipped himself backwards, both his feet striking the bird in the stomach. He flew back from him with a grunt as the wind shot from his beak. The Blaziken landed on his feet, his fists raised to his chest, bracing himself for an aerial assault.

"Krayne!" Grey bellowed.

The Blaziken leapt towards him, landing in the same position, buffeting several Murkrow away with his claws.

The world distorted around them as the disoriented Honchkrow flapped to his feet, commanding his army in incoherent caws. His red eyes locked onto Tumble and he sneered.

"You wretched runt! Caring for these curs! You know when you evolve, they'll disown you? All dark Pokemon join the Darkness! All of them!"

Tumble tutted and crossed his arms, looking away from the Honchkrow.

Claws snatched feebly at them as the woods warped away around them, the Guild materialising amongst the trees.

"They'll disown you!" Yurlik howled. "You'll be back!"

His voice faded out as the rickety town solidified, the Guild headquarters looming before them.

The strength left Tinkers body, and he stumbled sideways into Krayne's arms.

"Come on, son," came his father's distorted voice. "We need to get you to the ward."

The world faded around him as he was scooped up into the Blaziken's claws.

...

One season later...

"She's gone."

Tinker looked round at the door to his office. Tumble stood stepped into the room, stooping slightly as his new evolved form was too tall for the doorway, and looked back over his shoulder into the hallway.

Tinker's heart sank. "Blossom?"

"They got 'er good, Tink." Tumble sighed. "No one could survive that assault."

Tinker put his head in his paws as tears filled his eyes. Krayne was gone, believed dead. Now Blossom was gone. Tinker was left watching the Outcasts himself, and he watched them run. Day after day, they were at risk of a Murkrow assault as they spiralled overhead searching for them. Scrafty invaded, kicking down the wooden structures and grabbing the frightened Pokemon before they could flee.

They were always on the move, desperately trying to reach New City, an underground refuge started by his father and Grey, explaining their frequent coming and going. And now they had to move again.

A hollowness was torn in his chest, and he pushed himself up from the desk.

"Get Grey," he said.

Tumble's heavy footsteps moved away from him. He stared down at the paperwork, littering various sketches and notes that only he could make head or tail of. Sketches for a device that, if it worked, could move Pokemon safely from place to place. Safely to New City, if he could make it there first.

That was the idea. But was anywhere safe at all?

"We can't teleport." Grey appeared in the doorway, drawing the Riolu's attention. "We might land in the midst of danger. We need to run."

Tinker sighed and looked away from him. He hadn't even needed to voice his request. He got the same answer every time. He tossed the designs to the floor and kicked them, causing them to erupt into flames.

Soon, the old Guild building would be ashes.

"Evacuate the place. We're moving."

Blossom...

It had all started the day after Tumble evolved. They'd been fighting against the Murkrow, and he'd evolved in the midst of battle.

He'd faltered, and Blossom had taken the entire attack while the birds ignored him. All he'd done was stare at his paws.

He'd ran.

Tinker hadn't realised how much the Honchkrow's words had stuck with him. He hadn't known what to say.

His father. Now his sister.

He felt so betrayed. But was it really Tumble's fault?

The Outcasts gathered outside the Guild building. The sun was still high in the sky, and it would be for a good few hours. That would give them enough time to make it to safety.

Grey's eyes widened and he looked over Tinker's shoulder.

"They're coming!"

Tinker span and his breath froze in his throat. Above them flapped a black cloud of feathers, and below them, breaking through the buildings, ran a gang of Scrafty.

A Meinshao placed his paw on Tinker's shoulder and nodded to him. "You go. Let the warriors deal with this."

Tinker nodded and turned to command the rest of the Outcasts. As one, they moved out, leaving behind the Guild's warriors – a mixture of Pokemon types. Ones that could handle the Murkrow and Scrafty alike.

But Tinker made that one fatal error. He looked back, watching the battle unfold.

Watching as Rough and Tumble rounded on a Raichu, and stomped him into the ground.

...

Tinker blinked as his office came back into view around him.

Betrayal. He'd never felt so betrayed.

A childhood friend. A life spent running from the Darkness.

He didn't know if it was Yurlik's words or if the Pancham twins had been a part of it from the start. And now he'd never know.

Was it bred into them? Did all Pokemon split apart depending on their typing?

Would an innocent little hatchling become his worst nightmare, tearing up the Guild from the inside the moment it evolved? Or would it give them the edge they needed in battle? Become an important ally, a friend?

Or family...

He sat with his arms crossed on the table, resting his head on them as he stared at the blanket resting a few inches away. It covered the make-shift nest he'd made, lined with a few of the feathers he'd gathered up from the old nest.

The door opened behind him. "You still watchin' that thing?"

"Oh, Skipper." Tinker didn't look up. "Yes. But I'm not sure if this is going to be warm enough."

...

 **Please R &R! =D**


End file.
